Can't Deny the Heart
by Tripp3235
Summary: This story assumes that Steve doesn't catch on to Emma's kidnapping of baby Andrew. What happens after Kayla nurses him back to health?
1. Chapter 1

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary:**Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play. There will be several differences from this and the canon, but the main one is Steve does NOT hear Kayla and Chris talking about Andrew's kidnapping so therefore he doesn't become focuses on that.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

_After Steve's remark, Kayla's eyes grew wide at his gall. "You're incredible, you don't have a clue do you? You know there are people at the emergency center who need me. My brother is having problems. My sister's baby has been kidnapped, I don't need to waste my time on people who don't care." _

Steve's bruises actually shook when Kayla slammed the door. Now that she was gone, his sleazy grin disappeared while his body sagged. Her parting words to him were more affective than she probably realized. He shook his head trying to clear it, to clear away the guilt he felt for treating her like that. Why did he do it? Acting like a jerk was second-nature to him, but usually he knew how to bury that desire when the situation called for it. Especially when someone was actually being nice to him. But being around Kayla, it was like he had no real control of his actions.

Steve sighed feeling incredibly tired. Treating Kayla like this now was really a rotten thing to do. She stayed with him all night, and took care of him. The way she was able to handle ALL his injuries, including the patch, made him shudder. Kayla was really not like any woman he had ever met. And that difference made it all the more harder to try to be himself with her. Coming in contact with her had the oddest effect on him. Steve was not a man to use fancy words, but Kayla really was intoxicating. There really was no better way to describe it.

Steve walked over to the mirror to get a good look at himself. His injuries didn't hurt as bad as he played to Kayla, but they still hurt like hell. Looking at himself and seeing the newly formed bruises practically glow in his dimly lit rathole he called an apartment, he gritted his teeth. He used to think he was ugly before, that damned patch practically covering his whole face, but now he knew what a real monster looked like, because there was one in the mirror's reflection.

Steve looked down and saw his harmonica in it's normal resting place. He picked it up and started to play a sad song to match his mood, but Kayla's face from a few days ago came to his mind. He had asked her to close her eyes so he could play for her but she wouldn't do it. She stared back at him with such intensity that it actually stopped him playing. That memory kept him from playing now.

Steve laid down again and contemplated what he could do. Kayla made a declaration for him to think about someone else for once. He snorted at how funny it was that since he met her, he thought about her all the time. But that wasn't what she meant and he knew it. Her family was going through a lot right now. Marlena was in a coma, Bo ditched them to hang out with his newly discovered richer father and did she say her nephew was now missing? Steve shook his head. From what little he knew of Kayla, she probably took all their problems to heart and was trying to help each one of them. Surely there was something nice he could do for her. Let her know, that he was capable of thinking of someone else and give her a little joy.

Not sure what he had in mind, Steve got up and put on his blue jean vest. He walked up the steps, trying to remember to take it slow. He wasn't sure how much energy he had, especially since he wasn't even sure what the hell he was going to do, but he knew just the place to start.


	2. Chapter 2

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary:**Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play. There will be several differences from this and the canon, but the main one is Steve does NOT guess that Emma was involved in Andrew's kidnapping nor Kayla and Chris talking about Andrew's kidnapping so therefore he doesn't become focuses on that.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

"I just don't understand, Bo! This is your family!" Hope said as they stood near the bar. Bo and Hope had been standing in Shenanigans for 20 minutes, waiting on their order to be finished so they could take it and go.

Bo rubbed his temple, his mind reeling about going over the same argument with Hope over and over, "Victor is my family too. This is very important to him."

Hope rolled her eyes. Victor had made arrangements to host a dinner party at his home the next evening with some important out of town guests. Hope had no idea who these people were, and highly doubted they were anyone she wanted to spend time with. Bo had agreed that the both of them would attend but that was before all the current issues with his other family, his REAL family, had started. She couldn't believe he was being so stubborn about this.

"Bo, I would think that your sister-in-law in a coma, plus Andrew's kidnapping, you know Victor's other son, would be more important and he would at least postpone the dinner."

"He can't. These people can't rearrange their schedules at the last minute. A lot of time and effort has been put into this. Look, I know..." he sighed. He was getting a headache and needed some fresh air, "Let me know when the food is ready. I'll wait outside."

Hope called after him but he was already out the door. She was tired too. They were picking up some food to take to the hospital for Roman who hadn't left Marlena's side. It was the least they could do, but even this small gesture was obviously making Bo uncomfortable. Sometimes she didn't think she really knew her husband.

"What's wrong with Little Vic?"

Hope sighed as she turned to face Steve. She was about to reply with a snide comeback but when she saw his face, concern and curiosity got the better of her, "Steve! What happened?"

Steve was taken aback for a second, he hadn't considered that people would question him on his looks but then Hope wasn't like normal people.

Thinking quickly, he shrugged, "Jealous husband. I get that a lot."

Hope ignored his last remark, certain she probably didn't want to know what really happened to him, "Steve, I wish you would stop doing this to yourself."

"Hey, can I help it if I'm irresistible?" he grinned.

They held eye contact for a beat. Hope knew Steve well enough to know nothing she said would faze him, but she wished for his sake he could find peace.

"Food's ready," the bartender said.

"Good." Hope paid and began to walk out.

"Oh, all the Kirakis money has increased your appetite," Steve said, looking at the large bag of food.

"This is for Roman, Steve." Hope said. "Bo and I are headed over to the hospital and we knew he probably hasn't eaten. So if you will excuse me.."

Steve trying to use the opportunity she gave him, "Wait, how...um, how is she?"

Hope confused asked, "Who?"

Closing his eyes, this was not how he had planned out the conversation, "Roman's wife, what's her name, Marlena?"

Hope narrowed her eyes, "Why do you care?"

"Why shouldn't I? I mean, Bo is, well, was my best friend and his family is suffering and I just thought it would be nice to know..."

Hope shook her head, "I don't believe you. You and Bo have been at each other's throats since Stockholm You can hardly stand to be in the same room much less talk to each other."

Steve realizing Hope was on a roll, tried to get the conversation to where he had more control, "Hey, I saved his life the other day, didn't I?"

"Yea, but even then you still acted like a jerk to him, me and Kayla."

At that she stopped, "You know, the last time I saw you, was at the emergency center hanging around Kayla."

Steve managed to hold back the deer in headlights look, "Yea, you did. She had to check out my injury. You know, the one I got from saving your husband."

Hope eyed him nervously, "Steve, don't try to hurt Kayla."

"I would never hurt Kayla."

"Maybe not on purpose, but she isn't used to guys like you."

"Guys like what?" Steve asked defensively.

"I don't mean it to sound like that. I'm just saying she isn't used to guys who sometimes have a hidden agenda. She thinks everyone has a good heart underneath."

"What is mine? Made of coal?"

"No," Hope said not realizing how bad this sounded, "I just mean...Kayla is used to a guy who treats her for the sweet, special person she is. She's used to guys being nice, treating her nicely. You know, bringing her flowers, candy and not treating her like she's going to be the next notch on his bedpost."

Steve was now insulted, "I do that?"

Hope took a long breath, "Since Britta you do."

Steve felt the air leave his gut at that one. Hearing Hope say that hurt almost as much as the hits he took the day before. When he looked back up she was gone so Steve sat at the bar. Before he knew it, he asked for a drink.

Britta was a name he hated to hear. He still had dreams about her but lately those dreams were fading. Fading very quickly. Instead of longing for her, all he felt was bitterness.

He was such in deep thought, he didn't realize how long the drink had been sitting in front of him. Bringing the glass to his lips, he thought again of Kayla and before he knew it, he had a grin on his face. But Hope's words came back She was the last person he would hurt now. He cringed thinking how he had terrified her in Cleveland. This woman who put his own problems before her own.

And Hope was wrong. He didn't want to date her. Kayla wasn't his type. Britta was, that was for sure. She was the love them and leave them type but Kayla would want him to stay forever. He didn't want that. He just wanted...he wanted...

"I just want to do something nice for her," he said aloud to no one in particular. The bartender heard Patch's remark and took the opportunity to refill his glass.

_She's used to guys being nice, treating her nicely. You know, bringing her flowers, candy and not treating her like she's going to be the next notch on his bedpost._

Hearing Hope's voice in his head, Steve suddenly had an idea. Flowers would do! He couldn't believe such an obvious gesture didn't pop in his mind before. Checking the time, he realized it was later than he thought and decided he better head over to the flower shop now.

He was so excited at the thought of how much Kayla would love them, he hardly felt the pain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary:**Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play. There will be several differences from this and the canon, but the main one is Steve does NOT guess that Emma was involved in Andrew's kidnapping nor Kayla and Chris talking about Andrew's kidnapping so therefore he doesn't become focuses on that.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Steve walked into the florist shop, by this time he had been up all day and walked across town. He was hobbling pretty badly but managed to walk through the door standing up straight.. He didn't know why he couldn't just put this off until tomorrow but something was driving him to get it done as quickly as possible.

"May I help you?"

Steve looked at the woman across the counter. Steve got the direct impression she didn't think he was here for flowers. It could be because of the stricken look on her face or the way she kept looking at the security camera. Maybe it was the way her right hand was stretched far up under the counter as if to press an alarm.

Knowing he didn't have time to mess with the woman, he slowly walked up, "Hi."

"May I help you?" she repeated.

"Yes," Steve said looking around. Not really knowing what would be exactly appropriate, "Listen. I may need your advice."

"We have an excellent selection for sympathy and condolence flowers," she said glancing up and down at him, "We can deliver them directly to the hospital room."

It took Steve a second to realize her assumptions, and one quick glance in a nearby mirror told him he couldn't blame her for it, "No, um, no. It's for...it's not for that! It's for a lady."

By now, seeing Steve's embarrassment, she realized he wasn't there to rob them and began to relax, "Oh. A girlfriend?"

Steve felt his cheeks flush. He couldn't believe it. It's like he was a teenager, "No, she's not. She's just..."

"Just?" the lady repeated.

"Special," he said.

"Ok. Well, what would you like to send her?"

"Um, how about a rose? A yellow rose?" he asked.

Judging by his appearance, she had no idea if he could afford it, but she decided to go with her gut, "If she is special, then a dozen would be better."

Steve looked up on her display shelf, and suddenly he wished he had enough money for two dozen, "You're right. Yes, make it a dozen."

"Do you want us to deliver them? We can do it at her workplace for a small extra charge."

Steve contemplated this. Kayla might like getting the flowers in public. Plus, if she thought they came from him, any rage might be squelched and she wouldn't throw them, say, at his head. He nodded and smiled, "That sounds good. When can you deliver them? I know it's kind of late."

"Let me check our schedule. We have gotten used to delivering them at certain times for certain businesses. We can have it delivered about 2 pm tomorrow."

Steve's eye grew wide when he thought he could show up when they arrived. He could see her face for himself before she knew they were from him. Again, in case they didn't make up for his earlier behavior.

Agreeing, Steve handed the woman money and told her Kayla's name and the address to the emergency center. He was just about to leave when she stopped him. "Sir?"

"Yea?"

The lady couldn't help it. She laughed. He was actually pretty cute. He was so obviously nervous. She reminded him, "You need to fill out the card."

Steve felt his face flush again. He cursed under his breath for that. He didn't understand what was wrong with him. He took the card and she gave him a pen to write down his thoughts.

"You can write over there, sir."

"Um, right," Steve said. He stood for a long time staring at the card. Everything that popped up in his mind seemed like the wrong thing to say. "To a real Sweetness." "You are an Angel of Mercy." He attempted to write, "I'm not good with words.." then scribbled it out. Then he realized what he had done and looked up at the woman who was watching him, the earlier fear in her eyes replaced with amusement.

"I'm sorry, may I have another card?" he asked.

"Would you like me to write it?" she asked, "Because we close at 6."

Sighing, Steve agreed. He watched as she got another card out, and looked at him expectantly.

"Oh, right. You need me to say something." Steve laughed.

"It works better that way," she said but not unfriendly.

"Ok, um, well," Steve struggled but then decided to just play it safe, "Can it say, 'To the best nurse there is, you are too good for your patients.'? "

She smiled and wrote it down. The telephone rang as she wrote the last word and she told him she would be just a moment. Steve didn't really want to stick around. Besides he was really hurting by now and wanted to just get home and rest . Tomorrow he would get to see her reaction.

The lady hung up the phone and turned to ask Steve the final question but he was already gone. "Sir? What about the name?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Betas:** Slynn6776 and SteveKaylafan2

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play. There will be several differences from this and the canon, but the main one is Steve does NOT guess that Emma was involved in Andrew's kidnapping nor overhear Kayla and Chris talking about Andrew's kidnapping.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Before walking in, Steve checked his watch. It wasn't two yet, but he had gotten at the clinic early in case they arrived early. He knew he could find an excuse to stay, once he was around Kayla it was easy to think of excuses to stay. The best part was he didn't need one to stop by, his bandage needed changing. Feeling oddly giddy, he opened the door and walked in.

He opened it to a room full of people. He had never seen the center this busy. Was it understaffed? A moment of panic crept through Steve's heart as he worried Kayla might actually be off that day. He calmed though the moment he caught sight of her.

"Afternoon, Sweetness," Steve beamed.

Kayla stopped, mentally flinching at the sound of his voice. She still was angry at him from the day before. "What are you doing here? We are really busy today."

Before he could stop himself, Steve said, "I'm back to see you. I'm sure you didn't forget, I'm here to receive the same treatment you gave me from that night we spent together!"

Kayla turned and looked at him. For a second her heart skipped a beat, something it annoyingly did around this man, "What do you want?"

"For you to change my bandages. Shall I head to Exam Room B?"

Looking around at the waiting room, she would have laughed at the gall of Steve Johnson to think he could waltz in here past a dozen people and think she would immediately see him, but it wasn't actually funny. Deciding it was probably for the best not to be seen telling a patient to get out, she said, "Fine, Mr. Johnson. Take a seat and someone will see you when your name is called."

Steve's mind was screaming at him to shut up, but there was this part of him that couldn't deny that Kayla in this state was worth her anger, "Back to formalities, Ms. Brady? If you like it that way, you know I'll be sure to accommodate."

"Sit down!" Kayla said annoyed. She walked away to check on another patient. She had to count to ten when she heard Steve call behind her he would be waiting.

Steve sat down feeling dejected. He almost banged his head on the wall for the stupidity of his behavior. He reminded himself that sending her the flowers was to get her mind off her troubles. Buttering her up with offending remarks before they arrive probably won't make her accept them any easier.

_If she accepts them at all_, he thought.

The next few minutes took forever as Steve sat as patiently as he could, trying to get glimpses of Kayla as she walked back and forth. She was ignoring him. Steve sat, trying to keep his mind occupied but he couldn't help but notice the kid next to him had tried to eat a sucker he had dropped on the floor. Steve managed to stop him. Before he knew it, the mother snatched the sucker away from Steve, looking at him like he had wrestled it out of the kid's hand and started sucking it himself.

Looking over at the other person next to him, Steve noticed the guy was cutting his fingernails. Steve couldn't believe it.

"Man, what are you doing? That's…gross," Steve said.

The main stopped and looked at Steve worried, "You mean, you can see it?"

Steve jumped up quickly and decided to stand over by the receptionist desk. He noticed his Snuggle Bunny wasn't there working. Actually no one was behind the desk.

"Shouldn't someone be behind the desk?" Steve asked.

No one answered, so Steve decided to look for Kayla to ask her. Finding her finishing up with a patient in the back, he grinned, "Hey, Sweetness! Shouldn't you have…"

"What are you doing back here?" Kayla asked.

"I came to look for you. Shouldn't you have a person at the front desk?"

"Only if there is someone available to sit there," Kayla said exasperated.

"Aw, Kayla, you sound stressed. I can play you a song on my harp…"

Kayla stopped him. That's all she needed were the patients hearing harmonica music from the back. Realizing that just seeing him now would be easier than risking offending all their patients, she told him to just go ahead and sit down.

Steve grinned, "Excellent! That will cheer you up."

Rolling her eyes, she walked over to him as he took his shirt off. She noted he was moving easier than before but it was obvious he was still in pain. Looking over his bruises on his chest and face, Kayla fought the urge to say anything about how bad they looked. The last thing he needed was sympathy.

Looking at his back, she checked his bandage and was pleased to see it looked good, all things considering. She took it off and replaced it with a fresh one. Once she was done, she realized something and turned towards Steve.

"Are you alright?"

Steve, who had been trying to think up something clever but not offensive to say was surprised by the question. He shrugged, "Yea, everything is good. Why?"

Kayla shrugged, "I don't think you have gone this long before being conscious but not talking."

Steve couldn't resist the laughter, "Sure. You confuse me, baby, one minute you tell me to stop talking, than when I do, you want me to start up again."

Kayla had opened up the exam curtain but turned towards him, clarifying, "I did not say I wanted you talking, it's just that I noticed…"

"You noticed that you missed me talking," Steve finished.

Kayla felt the anger well up inside her but before she could retort, she heard someone say, "Delivery for Kayla Brady."

"Excuse me," Kayla said as she walked off in a huff.

Steve took a gulp. The flowers were there. It was about time. It was past two. He heard some gasps from patients about the beauty of the roses. Peeking out to the waiting room, he found Kayla with her back to him reading the card. He held his breath. Suddenly he was glad all these people were there. That vase would not go well with his bruises.

To his relief and joy, Kayla smiled and said something he couldn't hear but then she followed up with how beautiful they were. Then he was sure he heard, "He shouldn't have." Grinning, Steve stood up straighter, this was going much better than he expected.

Strutting out to the waiting room, Steve got out there just in time to hear Kayla tell Dr. Curtis that she got some roses…from Chris Kositchek. That stopped him cold and the air in him drained out.

"Those are really beautiful, Kayla."

She nodded, "They are. I didn't expect him to do this."

Dr. Curtis smiled, "Does this mean you are getting back together?"

Kayla's smile vanished. Looking back at them, "Oh, no. This was just a gesture. He's just sweet like that."

Steve looked at Kayla and then the flowers. He suddenly felt very tired and foolish. He glared at the flowers. Why would she think Chris sent them? His curiosity asked, "Those are from Chris you said?"

Kayla turned and looked at him. She knew the minute he had walked up behind her. She could always sense him near her like that. Interpreting the look on his face as guilt, Kayla said, "They are. I mean, there was no name on the note, but what he said is basically what he told me the other night."

Steve was confused. What was she talking about? Kayla had been with him. Looking at her, he repeated, "The other night?"

Kayla nodded, "Yes, he stopped by while I was nursing you. He said some things…well the card is obviously from him."

Kayla had stopped before repeating what Chris had said. She was angry at Steve and he could really push her buttons but she hated to be venomous to him. Judging by his face, he was obviously upset anyway, but why was he upset now? She heard him mumble, "No name on the card."

"Steve?" she asked.

Steve looked at Kayla. He had forgotten to have the florist put his name down. Then he remembered what Hope said. She never expected a guy like Steve, no Patch, to send her anything like this. This brought out a laugh from him, he realized this was the second time he tried to give her flowers. The other time he had stolen them. She wasn't fooled as he had left the name of the Chinese restaurant clearly on the bouquet. Now he does send her flowers, but it doesn't even occur to her they could be from him. Not wanting to cry, Steve began to laugh instead.

Kayla's eyes narrowed. Now this was more like the Steve she knew. "Well, Steve, I see you find it amusing. That's fine. I think we are done here. Let's see if we can take better care of ourselves."

She nearly gasped when he turned suddenly at her with that intensive look and said, "Don't worry. I'll be taking better care of myself."

Watching him stomp out, Kayla shook her head. She fought the desire to look through the window at him, making sure he was ok. She checked the clipboard to see who was next, and she called the patient's name. Looking back at the roses, she did admit they were beautiful but she worried some why Chris would send them to her. She hoped he wasn't looking to get back together.


	5. Chapter 5

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776 & SteveKaylafan2

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Kayla was walking by the river docks on her way home, carrying the rose bouquet with her. She was troubled because the more she thought about it, the less she liked Chris sending her the flowers. She was hoping because they were yellow roses, where yellow signified friendship, he didn't mean anything else by it.

But what if he did? Kayla had wondered if she would get back with Chris when she came back to Salem. He was her first...well her real first. But the breakup was enough to send her to Cleveland, saying goodbye to her home, Salem. She knew when returning, there might be a chance there were some lingering feelings with him still.

Now that she had been back for a couple of months, she knew it was really over. She had hardly thought of Chris since saying initial hellos. He had suggested a few friendly dinners and she was fine with it, but knew it couldn't be more than that. She just hoped the flowers were just a thank you for helping Steve.

The name of Steve Johnson made her pick up her pace. Sometimes just thinking about him made her so angry. What was it about him that could push her buttons so easily? And more importantly, what was it about him that made her feel drawn to him.

Not drawn to him. She wasn't drawn to him, she mentally corrected. It was more like, just fascinated. He was so different than any other man she had met. His usual attitude irritated her but sometimes she could swear there was a look on his face that told her he didn't mean it. And though she wished he would have at least thanked her for personally nursing him instead of making the unsavory remarks she got instead, she knew she would never forget what was under his patch. And the fear he had for her to see that vulnerability. How can a man get such a wound?

"Kayla!"

Kayla looked up in time to see she was about to run right into Hope. She smiled big, "Hope! Hi!"

Hope grinned at her friend and laughed, "Well, it's no wonder you almost ran into me! Look at these flowers!"

Kayla nodded, slightly embarrassed, "Yea, they arrived at the center today. Chris sent them."

Hope's eyes grew wide, "Really?"

Kayla nodded. Deciding she could ask Hope her opinion, Kayla asked, "Yeah, I'm wondering something. I first thought he sent them for friendship. He can be really sweet like that. But now I worry...do you think he wants something more?"

"Well, Kayla, let me ask," Hope inquired, "what if he does? Do you want to get back together with him?"

Judging by the look on Kayla's face, Hope knew the answer before her sister-in-law answered, "No, I don't. I admit I wondered when I first came back if there was anything still there, but...it's over. But I was going to go over to Shenanigans and thank him. I just don't know if I should be prepared to simply thank him or let him down gently."

Hope thought about it, "Well, what did the card say?"

Kayla let her read it, and then she filled her in on how Chris found out Kayla was helping Steve the other night. On hearing about Steve, Hope became very interested. She asked, "You nursed Steve's wounds?"

Hope was surprised to see Kayla blush. She held back a smile.

Kayla, suddenly very interested in the flowers, said, "Well, he was...he was hurt really badly. He needed medical attention. He refused the hospital, what was I supposed to do?"

Hope watched Kayla. Her friend was acting very strange now that they were talking about Steve. The brunette said, "You know, I saw him yesterday. He looked pretty bad. I asked him about it but he wouldn't admit where he got them."

Kayla's eyes narrowed, "Not to me either. Who knows what he got into? He came by the clinic today. He was acting...well, he was acting like himself until these flowers arrived, then he got upset."

Hope thought about the card. There had been no name. Remembering what she told Steve yesterday about how Kayla should be treated, she had a good idea what had gotten Steve upset. But she couldn't be absolutely sure that Steve had sent the roses or if Chris did. Not certain how Kayla would react if Steve had sent them, Hope decided to attempt to be subtle.

"Well, Steve has his problems; I try to let them go most of the time. He's...well, he can be a nice guy when he needs to be."

Kayla listened, she wanted to ask more. Hope knew a lot more about Steve than she would say. Before she could do so, Hope said, "Well, I have to get to the market. I've got...some errands there."

Kayla nodded, "Yes, and I need to get these home first. Then I'm going to head to see Chris."

Before she walked off, Hope stopped her, "Um Kayla? Maybe you..maybe you should stop by the florist first."

"Why?"

Hope, trying to sound indifferent, "I saw there was no name on the card. It wouldn't hurt to make sure it was Chris, you know? They could tell you."

"Oh, Hope," Kayla said, in a doubtful tone, "I'm sure it was him. Who else could it be?"

Hope said, "Well, it can't hurt to ask. Isn't the florist on your way to Shenanigans?" At Kayla's nod, Hope went on. "Besides, if it was Chris maybe the florist can tell you in what way he sent the flowers."

That got Kayla thinking, "That's a good idea."

Hope nodded, "In fact, he might not have even asked for anything in particular, he just paid some money so they used the yellow roses."

Kayla agreed, it was a good idea, "You're right. Ok, I'm going to stop there first."

Hope watched Kayla leave. She hoped she did the right thing. Steve wasn't someone she was absolutely sure she could trust to always do the right thing, but he wasn't a bad guy either and maybe Kayla was just the right person to help him with that.

Realizing she didn't have time to stand there, she quickly ran off, immediately shifting mental gears to the huge task she had to do that evening. Not sure if she could actually pull it off.

Kayla arrived at the florist shop. She had already been home, changed ,and made sure the roses had plenty of water. On the way over, he mind went back and forth over Chris wanting to possibly be more than friends and what Hope said about Steve. Both thoughts were making her nervous and she didn't understand why. At least, she didn't understand why when thinking about Steve's hard life she would become so sad for him.

"May I help you?" a friendly voice greeted her.

Kayla smiled at the florist. She seemed helpful. The flowers were beautiful! Oh, she was going to have to remember to get some, but now wasn't the time.

"Hello, I was hoping you could help me?" Kayla answered.

"I can try, Miss."

Clearing her throat, Kayla said, "This afternoon I received some yellow roses from this shop. They went to the emergency center on the riverfront?"

"Oh, I hope nothing was wrong, ma'am!"

Kayla shook her head, "Oh, no! They were, are, beautiful," smiling now, she said, "I just hoped, see there was no name on the card and could you tell me who sent them?"

The lady smiled. She remembered Steve but of course didn't know his name. Shaking her head, she said, "I'm sorry, he didn't leave his name. He came in, and ordered the flowers and paid in cash."

"Ok, thank you," Kayla said, feeling dejected, "I guess you wouldn't remember him? You probably get a lot of orders a day."

"Actually," the lady said, "he was memorable. I mean, when he walked in here with that patch on his face and him all beaten up like that, I can't imagine who wouldn't notice him."

Kayla was silent. She felt the blood drain from her face. Steve? Steve Johnson ordered them? But he had been there when they came. Kayla now comprehended why Steve left the way he did because she had mistakenly assumed they were from Chris.

"Ma'am, are you alright?"

Kayla looked up at the woman, "Oh, yes, I'm fine. I just...you said he had a patch on his eye?"

The woman smiled, "Yes, he did. I feel so bad when he first walked in because...well I thought he was going to be...well, I didn't treat him right. But he was really nice. Actually he was so cute about the whole thing. He kept trying to come up with what to say on the card. He messed up and I wound up writing it for him."

"Really?" Kayla asked, hardly believing it.

"Yes, after I wrote it down, he left so quickly he didn't leave his name. I hope you enjoyed them."

"I did," Kayla said quietly, "they were beautiful."

"Good, he did say they were for a lady who was special," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

Kayla, feeling very warm, knew she needed air. Walking towards the door, she said quickly, "Thank you, that is...thanks. Um, I'm glad... you have been very helpful."


	6. Chapter 6

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776 & SteveKaylafan2

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Kayla looked up at Steve's door from the bottom of the stairs. Her mind was reeling since finding out that Steve had sent the flowers. Kayla's face burned thinking of how she acted earlier. The guilt Kayla felt was unbearable, but it was also matched by an equal amount of confusion.

Knowing the flowers were from Steve made a huge difference to the way she looked at them. She rushed right over here after the florist informed her it was Steve, but her first desire was to go back and look at them again. In her haste to leave the shop, Kayla had forgotten to ask if it was Steve's idea for the roses or the florist herself.

And to hear the lady talk about Steve like that gave Kayla a weird feeling in her heart. She used words like "nice" and "cute" which were not something Kayla had ever heard used in reference to Steve. Looking up at the door now, she was wondering how to go about apologizing to him. She knew when he left the clinic that something was wrong, and there was no doubt in Kayla's mind there was real hurt in his face.

Kayla blinked when she realized she was standing in front of the door. She hadn't remembered even climbing the steps. Standing there, music was coming from inside the apartment, no doubt Steve playing his harmonica. Hearing the sad song, Kayla hated to think she might be the cause of it.

Knocking on the door, Kayla held her breath. Hearing the music stop, she waited for Steve to open the door. She was very nervous, more now than she was the first time she stopped by his place to check his head injury. That time she was returning the favor, checking on him after he saved Bo's life. Now, she was going to admit she was wrong and have to thank him and apologize. There was no telling how Steve was going to behave. She knew what she wanted to say but that wasn't the problem. Knowing what you wanted to tell Steve and keeping yourself from going off on a complete rant instead was easier said than done. On that thought, the door flew open and Kayla saw Steve looking not entirely pleased to see her.

"Well, Ms. Brady, what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked.

Kayla opened her mouth but made the mistake of glancing down at his shirtless chest and lost her train of thought. Pulling herself together, she asked, "Can I come in?"

"Why?"

Kayla took a deep breath; this was going to be a lot harder than she thought. She knew going in that Steve was going to be difficult to deal with, and Kayla was in no position to argue with that. Yet he was wrong if he thought he could bully her out of speaking her mind especially when it was an apology!

"Because...because I need to talk to you."

Steve eyed Kayla suspiciously, "So talk."

Kayla looked him hard in the eye, and said, "Please, Steve?"

Steve sighed. He couldn't say no to that. He gestured for her to come in and he followed her down the stairs. She turned to face him and before he could say something smart, he saw the look on her face which made him freeze and listen.

"Steve, I'm sorry. I found out it was you who sent the roses. I wanted to thank you for them, and apologize about my attitude earlier when I received them..."

"What makes you think I bought the roses?" Steve asked but his voice was a whisper. "Are you sure it's not your boyfriend, Chris?"

Kayla sighed, "I told you he isn't my boyfriend. Anyway I asked at the shop. I wanted to know for sure, and when I heard you sent them," Kayla decided to be truthful, "I was pleasantly surprised."

Steve felt a blush creep up on his face and for once blessed the dim lighting in the room. He wanted to say something, but suddenly his voice left his body and he turned away, not wanting to face her.

"Steve?" Kayla asked, seeing his back. She fought the urge to touch his bruises, they still looked horrible and she told herself she was only looking because of her nurse's instinct. She continued, "Steve, why didn't you tell me at the clinic?"

_Would you have believed me?_ Steve thought but he didn't answer.

Kayla asked another question, "Why did you send me flowers?"

Steve started, "Because when you were here, you treated me..."

He turned to look at her, and he suddenly decided not to follow through with it. Instead he said, "You treated me just the way I like it, baby, and so I wanted to make sure you got on the Steve Johnson appreciation plan. A woman who spends the night and treats me right gets her first dozen flowers free."

Kayla felt the frustration grow at each word he said. "Stop it, Steve! Don't tell me that...why do you do that?"

"Do what, Sweetness?" he made sure to leer enough at her where he knew she would be uncomfortable. It worked.

Kayla cried, "Why do I bother? I thought I could come here in an adult fashion and talk to you like real adults do."

Steve could never resist an opening like that, "I know what else adults do, Sweetness. For a change we can try that."

She almost slapped him on that one. She was just about to when she heard his phone ring. He grinned at her and picked up the receiver.

Kayla was going to leave at that, but the stubbornness she felt got the better of her. He might have deserved an apology, but she still deserved him to answer her truthfully about the roses. She waited for him to get off the phone, while the anger in her was steadily bubbling.

Until she realized he was talking to Hope.

"Hope, I'm not sure I understand, why do I have to come over?" Steve said, looking confused.

"_Please, Steve, I don't have time to explain. Please, I...will you come?"_

Steve wanted to tell her no, let Bo help her, but remembering that she was pregnant, he knew he couldn't take that chance, "Hope, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

He noticed Kayla had changed her stance and was standing closer to him.

"_I'm...please Steve. Just come? Come to the Kirakis house."_

"Ok, I'll be there." He then hung up the phone.

"What is it? What's wrong with Hope?" Kayla asked.

"I don't know. I just..." Steve didn't know what to tell Kayla. He had promised not to say anything about the baby, if that was about the baby, and she sounded really upset. Grabbing a shirt, he said, "I have to go. This fight is going to have to wait."

"I'm going with you," Kayla said. 

"Kayla," he started to tell her not to and then realized it was actually a good idea, "You know, you're right."

Hearing him say that nearly had Kayla falling off the railing outside his apartment. "What?" she asked.

Locking his door he said, "If she is hurt, we might need a nurse."

Kayla kept her mouth shut; there wasn't time for a fight. She did, however, take a moment to reflect that the man named Steve Johnson was such an enigma.


	7. Chapter 7

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776 & SteveKaylafan2

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

**NOTES for this chapter: ** Felt the need to say here, I feel I am taking liberties with Hope and especially Bo to serve my story and I apologize to anyone who feels this is out of character for them. I still am keeping that Bo is only pretending to get close to Victor so he can gather more and more evidence, but it might seem odd for him to expect the following of Hope. I also don't remember if the news of Hope's first pregnancy was known yet or if Steve was still the only one to know. I just feel like it works best the way I wrote the story to do the following. I hope you still like it.

Hope knew she was in trouble in more ways than one. When Steve arrived, he was probably going to kill her. She had to risk it though. His background in this special area could be the only thing to pull her out of this jam, and possibly get Victor off Bo's back.

Hearing the doorbell ring, Hope ran to the front door. She had forgotten to tell Steve to come to rear entrance and was cursing herself knowing the commotion he made. Luckily, it was just her in the house as Victor and Bo were out. The butler was also away at that moment tending to an errand for Victor for that evening's party.

By the time she made it to the door, Steve was just about to kick the door in.

"Steve!" Hope cried, glad to see she made it in time. "Be careful!"

Kayla and Steve rushed in and immediately started asking questions. Steve was more worried as he had concern for her and the baby. Kayla also had a list of questions of her own, especially why Hope would call Steve of all people.

Not expecting Kayla, Hope tried to calm her guests down; she only had a little over four hours.

Once Steve realized that Hope nor the baby were actually hurt, he became angry. Stomping around, he said, "What was the big hurry, Hope? You look fine to me! What the hell..."

Hope cut him off, "Steve, please! There isn't time. Follow me to the kitchen."

Steve and Kayla looked at each other, confused but did as they were told. In the kitchen they walked into the biggest mess they have ever seen. Hope stopped and stood in the doorway, the smell getting to her. Breathing in, the nausea hit her and she had to hold a bit of her stomach to maintain control.

Forgetting his earlier anger, Steve worried again about the baby. Mistaking Hope's touching her stomach for cramps, he said, "Hope? What is it? What's wrong? It's not the baby is it?"

Kayla, who was just about to ask Hope what was wrong herself, turned at that and said, "Baby? What...what are you talking about? What baby?"

Hope gave Steve a glare as realization dawned on Kayla's face. Forgetting she needed a huge favor from Steve, she said, "Steve, I told you not to tell anyone." Before Steve could respond to that, Hope then turned to Kayla and said, "Yes, I'm pregnant. The smell of this seafood...this lobster is really getting to me."

Both Steve and Kayla started talking at the same time. Kayla asking how long Hope had been pregnant and why haven't they told anyone. Steve asking exactly what was his purpose here.

Starting with Kayla, Hope quickly said, "Kayla, I'm sorry. With everything going on in our lives and the rest of the family, we decided to wait before we told anyone."

"Well, then how does Steve know?" Kayla asked ignoring the hurt look Steve had at her tone.

"I'll tell you later!" Hope said exhausted. She mentally cursed her hormones, she honestly felt like crying at this point. Looking at Steve, "Steve, I need your help. It's a long story."

Steve leaned up against the wall in his usual obtuse manner, but his face showed anger. Gesturing towards the kitchen, he said, "By all means, let's hear it."

"Steve, there isn't time! Let me just say..." Hope began.

"I can guess what you want me to do here. And you scared me half to death! Now...you tell me the whole story, what this dinner is for, who is coming and why the hell you are in charge of it instead of a catering service. Cause unless the old man has lost his mind, I can't believe he would put his daughter-in-law in charge of the kitchen, ever."

Hope was glaring at Steve now. Kayla, for her part, was confused and upset at the whole situation. Though she hated Steve's actual comments and had no idea what he was doing here, getting an explanation from Hope didn't seem unreasonable.

Sighing, Hope went through the story. Last night the caterers had called to tell Victor they had accidentally double booked and they weren't going to be able to provide their services. Apparently, Victor's status and money couldn't convince them to drop the other dinner, as it was for the Mayor. She remembered Victor's cursing, which was rare for the usually in control man.

Hope had actually bit back the temptation to laugh. It was amusing and she thought her prayers had been answered. The dinner was going to have to be postponed after all. Quickly that thinking changed when Bo, who seemed just as upset that the dinner wouldn't go on either, offered up Hope's cooking talents as a substitute.

Victor was just as surprised as Hope with Bo's words. He insisted that Hope had cooked for dinners in the past and made delicious meals. The food wasn't going to have as much variety as the catering service, but she did know how to cook lobster and had an excellent recipe.

Victor kept glaring at Hope like he thought this was some trick. The anger Hope had towards Bo wasn't nearly as strong at her resentment at Victor for doubting she could pull it off. Before she knew it, she was nodding saying she could easily handle the dinner. Victor wasn't convinced by far, but he had no choice in the matter. His normal cook had been let go under unusual circumstances, and now the catering service wasn't available. Unless he wanted to hire Caroline to make some clam chowder, this was it. He had asked what kind of lobster recipe she knew.

"I have served lobster with asparagus before," she said coldly.

Victor thought on it and said, "Ok, a former employee of mine is a good pastry chef so he can handle the dessert, but I will have no choice to use you for the rest."

Hope steamed but nodded her head. After Victor left them, Hope pulled Bo over and asked, "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Bo knew this was coming, "Fancy Face, you can make a good lobster dish. You have made it countless times before."

Hope glared, "That was just for the two of us. I have no idea what to serve for...what? Twelve? With lobsters? And the appetizers, the soups, I can't believe you have gotten me into..."

Bo took a deep breath, he had no choice. The people on this list read like a who's who list of organized crime. If he could get them in the same room together, it was quite possible he could help bring down not just Victor but crime bosses all over the country. The dinner had to go on.

Looking at Hope, he wished he could share this with her. He didn't dare. It was better she didn't know anything, but convincing his wife of that was one of two different things. He said, "I know, I'm sorry. I wish. Can...can you just trust me on this please?"

Hope hated the look Bo was giving her now. She gave in but she knew part of it was she wanted to wipe the skeptical look off Victor's face.

Starting out early that day, Hope had gone through all errands she needed to do for a 12 person dinner party. She looked up various recipes and ran to the Brady Market and got Shawn to agree he would deliver the lobster. She went through more checklists of making sure of other ingredients and had it delivered or picked it up herself. Since cost would be no problem, she had over-ordered to make sure she had backups in case anything got ruined. There was even a backup recipe using most of the ingredients in case disaster struck. With all that planning, the problem she encountered was something she never expected. Since being pregnant, Hope hadn't eaten any seafood. Now was a lousy time to find out the smell, especially lobster, made her sick; strongly sick. She could hardly be in the room. She knew Steve could help her out, if she could convince him. It wasn't going to be easy, but luckily he already knew about the baby coming. Calling Steve was the only thing she knew to do.

When Hope was done, she looked at the two people she hoped could help her. Kayla was now giving Hope a look of sympathy and no doubt was going to do everything she can to help out. Steve, who was still leaning up on the wall with his arms folded across his chest, gave a different reaction. He started laughing very hard. Kayla yelled at Steve that it wasn't funny but Hope rolled her eyes. She should have expected nothing less.

"Not funny?" he asked. "How can it not be funny? I mean...look at the situation. Sweet Thing here gets herself tricked into doing a fancy dinner for a large number of guests who probably are expecting snails or something. She has no real experience at this but thinks by just buying two of everything she will be covered. Then when it's time to actually start to make it, she finds out she can hardly come into the kitchen because the smell makes her want to vomit! I mean...seriously Hope. I think you should consider opening up a restaurant."

Kayla glared at Steve as he fell back into another round of laughter while Hope rubbed her temple. Waiting a minute or two, Hope finally said, "Yes, I know it's funny. I promise when this is all over, you can tease me all you want until the day I die, but right now, I need you to help me so get in here and please, help me cook this."

The more Hope talked, the more Steve laughed, which annoyed Kayla, but she had to ask, "Steve cook the dinner? What makes you think..."

"Believe it or not, Steve is a great cook. He actually is a gourmet, I believe," the look on Hope's face told Kayla she was telling the truth but Kayla was having a harder time believing this than Steve sending her roses. Looking at Steve who was finally pulling himself together, she repeated, "A gourmet cook."

"Sweetness, I'm an expert at two rooms in a house, and the kitchen is the other one."

Kayla, disgusted, walked away from Steve. Hope was still looking at him and said, "Steve, are you going to help?"

"Why should I? It's not like I am welcome in this home. I'm damned sure I'm not going to turn myself inside and out to help out Victor and Junior," he said nastily.

"Steve, I know it's a lot to ask..."

"Isn't it, though?" he said, "I think you can head over to that burger joint down by the river docks, you can probably get the super family size and save some money..."

Kayla was furious, "Steve, why are you being like this? What is so important that you can't help Hope out? Is it too much to ask..."

Steve cut her off, "Yes, it's too much to ask. This isn't me warming up a grilled cheese in the frying pan, baby. Look at this kitchen. Look at everything. It's a mess. Not to mention I have no idea if Hope has the right ingredients..."

Hope who was holding back tears, said, "I do, Steve. I promise. What can I do to get you do..."

"Nothing, Hope. There is nothing you can do. Steve only thinks of himself. He's incapable of doing anything nice for someone, isn't that right, Steve?"

Steve got quiet then, hearing Kayla talk like that hurt more than he was willing to let on. He watched as Kayla marched over to the phone, saying, "You know what, Hope? I'll call Chris. He's a good cook too and I'm sure we can get him to come over..."

"Wait a minute," Steve said as he grabbed Kayla's hand before she touched the phone, "what would Kositchek know about cooking?"

Ignoring the sensations in her hand from Steve's touch, Kayla looked at Steve very directly to get her point across. "Chris used to cook me dinners all the time, and I'm fairly confident that with his help..."

Steve laughed, "Just cause he could make dinner for two doesn't mean he can cook for a dozen, especially with the type of food Victor will expect."

Hope snorted at that remark realizing the truth in it, but stated, "What else can we do though?"

Sighing, Steve looked at both women and shrugged, "I guess I will have to think about someone else for a change."

Kayla met Steve's gaze at the last part, knowing it was intended for her. She felt bad for throwing Chris' name as it was a complete bluff. Steve did agree though now and maybe they could do this. She couldn't let her sister-in-law down. Deep inside Kayla's mind, there was a voice telling her she was not doing this for Hope's sake, but to see Steve in action in the kitchen. She ignored it though as Steve started giving them both orders.


	8. Chapter 8

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776 & SteveKaylafan2

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Kayla was actually enjoying herself. She couldn't believe it. If someone had told her the day before she would be in Victor Kirakis' kitchen happily cooking up lobster with Steve Johnson and Hope Brady, she would have thought that person crazy.

So far Steve had proven excellent in the kitchen, just as he said. After doing a quick inventory on all the food that Hope had bought, he had decided to throw out the recipe she had originally selected and instead chose to serve Lobster Au Gratin, saying the recipe was made for 12 people and worked better. The ingredients differed to Hope's but it called for ordinary items and Steve checked to make sure the pantry was stocked with them.

Steve would handle the main course himself and put Hope on the appetizer, a simple chicken wrap recipe which didn't make her nauseous while Kayla was in charge of soup and salad. Kayla became slightly flustered as her cooking skills were novice at best and given the importance of the evening she had been really nervous in what she was doing.

To her surprise, Steve was really patient with her and showed her an easier way to cut lettuce. She would feel her cheeks flush every time Steve would "check" on her, which was much more often than he checked on Hope whose appetizers were slightly more difficult. He simply said he knew Hope could handle the wraps, but wanted to make sure Sweetness could handle her end of the soup and salads.

With less than an hour ago, everything looked good. Steve put the lobster meals into the oven, and insisted they could warm there until ready to be served.

Hope still worried, "You sure they won't burn?"

"Do you trust me or not?" Steve asked frustrated.

"I do, but...it's just we've already cooked them..."

Steve sighed, "I picked this recipe because you can reheat them up before serving. It will be fine, I promise. Are you sure you will be okey to eat this meal? You still look green."

Hope made a face at that, "I'll have to, won't I? These crackers help. I just hope no one notices."

Kayla was standing to the side watching them interact, feeling an odd wave of jealousy at seeing how comfortable they were around each other. She knew Hope knew Steve fairly well, but she had no idea they could be so friendly with each other.

"So what does this taste like anyway?" Kayla asked curious.

Steve grinned, "Like lobster."

Kayla, knowing Steve was teasing, replied, "Which I wouldn't know."

That surprised Steve, he said, "You mean you have never had lobster before?"

Kayla shook her head.

Steve couldn't believe it, "How is that possible? I mean, your father is a fisherman, how can you not ever have lobster?"

"Well, when I was little I used to watch the live lobsters in the market. I...well, I hated the idea that we were selling anything live, so when my parents weren't around, I used to set them free."

The mental image popped in Steve's mind and he cracked up laughing. Kayla looked hurt at first, but then realized it was probably funny. She smiled and said, "So I wasn't really allowed in the store when lobster was in season."

"I guess not." Steve said, meeting Kayla's gaze. They stared at each other for a beat until Hope jerked.

"Did you hear that?" the brunette asked.

Steve and Kayla tore their eyes away from each other to try to listen to what Hope heard. Voices down the hall let them know they were no longer alone in the house.

"Oh, God, Victor and Bo are back!" Hope exclaimed, "You two need to get out of here! They can't see you."

Steve said loudly, "Well that's quite a thank you, Sweet Thing. Kayla and I work our butts off and you are going to take total credit..."

Hope wasn't listening though. Victor and Bo were getting closer. Not thinking entirely clearly, she pushed Kayla and Steve into the nearby pantry, "Just shut up and get in here!"

Slamming the door on them, she heard Steve and Kayla make some noises and Steve attempting to talk. Hope said through the door, "Kayla, please get Steve to shut up."

She heard some movement and then Steve making muffled sounds and hearing Kayla say "Just be quiet for once, Steve!"

"Please, Kayla, you need to be quiet too!" Hope whispered.

Turning to the door, she managed to stand near the oven where the smells of food were coming through strongly. She reminded herself if she breathed through her mouth she would be fine. 

Walking through the door came Victor, Bo and James the butler who had also returned and was bringing in the desserts from the catering. Bo's eyes were wide at the mess but they could see the food was pretty much ready. Bo had earlier had felt bad about pushing this off on Hope, but was really impressed with the look of the food.

"Wow, it looks great," her husband declared.

"You say that as if you didn't have faith in me, Brady," Hope answered him giving him a look that he knew meant there was going to be consequences.

Bo laughed nervously but Victor answered, "I'm sure Bo had every confidence in you. I must say, I expected tonight to be disaster. I'm pleasantly surprised."

"Thank you, Victor," Hope said through gritted teeth, "Now, I'm sure you have things to do, and everything is ready and we must get ready for guests to arrive."

"When will you be expected to serve?" asked Victor.

"The food is simply warming now, its already cooked. We can serve anytime."

A noise suddenly came from the pantry and she heard a barely audible "Ow!" that was no doubt Steve. Trying to be nonchalant as possible, Hope walked in front of the pantry doors and again insisted everyone leave the kitchen to get ready.

To her relief, Victor agreed as well. He instructed the butler to continue get the dining room set up and set up the bar for cocktails. Victor gave Hope one last look which was just as unreadable as his other expressions as he and the butler left the kitchen. Bo began to follow but when he saw that Hope wasn't behind him, he stopped.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked.

"Soon. I'll be there soon."

Bo grimaced, mistaking her distracted looks for anger at him. Sighing he walked back to Hope and said, "I'm sorry, Fancy Face. I really am. I know this was a lot to ask but...it's going to be worth it in the end. You'll see."

Hope's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Bo said, clearing his throat, "Come on, you need to take your shower first. Let's go."

"Well, um, okay. I'll be there in about five minutes." She smiled really big trying to be as convincing as she could. "I have to talk to James about how to serve the dinner."

Bo didn't look entirely convinced but decided to leave anyway.

Knowing she didn't have a long time, she crept over at the pantry and was surprised at how quiet it was. Before she could open the door, she heard a cough behind her.

Jumping straight in the air, Hope turned and looked at James who was standing in the kitchen now, "What did you need to tell me, Mrs. Brady?"

Cursing his quickness, she told him her instructions were for the dining room and she would be there in one second. He looked at her quizzically but left. Quickly Hope turned back to the pantry and whispered, "Okay, wait about one minute and then leave out quietly out through the back! Thanks for being so quiet!"

She then chased after James. In the dining room, they stood as Hope tried to think up something, anything, to tell him. Looking around, she finally told him it would be best to serve the food right after he takes it from the oven.

"Yes ma'am, I do know that."

"Right," Hope said, kicking herself for such a stupid remark, "I'm, I guess it's just that I also needed you to know that...the appetizers might not work well on these serving trays.

The blank look he gave her told her nothing but he finally said, "Is that all, Mrs. Brady?"

"Yes, James, yes," she said. He began walking back towards the kitchen, "Wait! Where are you going?"

"To the kitchen, Ma'am. I was going to..."

"No, don't do that yet. Just, um, oh, I know!" she said as inspiration struck, "I'd like you to get me a wine list of the available wines from the cellar so we know exactly what to serve."

"The master likes to choose the wine, Mrs. Brady."

Hope's eyes narrowed at this, "Well when the master begins cooking his own meals, than he can go back to choosing the wine. Please, I need to see a list."

As usual, James tone revealed nothing of how he felt as he said, "As you wish, Mrs. Brady."

Watching him walk off, Hope lowered her head in her hands as she let out a sigh. The cooking was done but so far nothing was any easier. Just then, she heard a crash coming from the kitchen.

Running back, Hope found Steve and Kayla sprawled on the floor. Both were turned sideways but were tangled in each other's arms. Their faces were as red as...well lobsters actually, and Hope had a big suspicion just what Kayla did to keep Steve from talking. It didn't look like it had been a big sacrifice for her.

Not wanting to get into it with them, and the last thing she needed was Bo to see them like this, she ordered them to get up and get out. For once Steve really had nothing to say, and he helped Kayla off the floor and both of them left in a hurry. If Hope had been in a better mood, she would have chuckled that Kayla managed to do the impossible and render Steve speechless.

**Next: **Don't worry, next chapter picks up with what happened in the pantry!


	9. Chapter 9

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

"_I guess not," Steve said, his eyes never leaving Kayla's._

Kayla felt heat rise in her cheeks as Steve stared back but she couldn't bring herself to tear her eyes away. She looked down to his lips which were curled up in that same smirk he usually wore but for some reason Kayla found especially attractive. Her mind was going crazy trying to think of something to say, to continue their conversation, but her body was content at just staring.

"Did you hear that?"

Remembering she and Steve weren't the only two people in the room, Kayla tried to concentrate to listen. Voices were echoing down the hall and Kayla briefly worried she would have to see Victor.

The worry wasn't needed as Hope began panicking and wanted them out of there. Steve started arguing with her and Kayla didn't have time to listen to all the conversation because Hope was actually pushing them into the pantry. Kayla started her protests but the wild look in Hope's eyes almost scared her. Steve went in first, followed by Kayla and before the pantry door shut, Kayla wondered if there was even enough room for the both of them.

The answer was no. The pantry was a good size and plenty of room for one person but with Steve and Kayla packed in there together and all the food that had been bought for the party, they were practically on top of each other.

Steve made a noise as he felt the shelves in his back push into his bandage which really hurt. He adjusted his stance but found the more he did that, the more he brushed up against Kayla which...didn't hurt Not sure why, he suddenly started putting all his body weight towards the shelves.

Getting angry, Steve asked to get out. He couldn't...wouldn't deal with this. He heard Kayla shushing him, but he was more aware of her breath on his throat. He heard Hope say something to Kayla about shutting him up and the next thing he knew a hand was pressed against his lips. His first reaction was to ask what she thought she was doing but it came out muffled.

Kayla's said, "Just be quiet for once, Steve!" All Steve could think about was that in a room full of food, Kayla's scent was the thing to over power him. Steve closed his eyes, mentally wishing Kayla would remove her hand.

Kayla was having a hard time breathing. She had meant to shut up Steve but his breath and feel of his lips against her hand was...distracting. Removing it, she realized Steve must be leaning up against the shelves which couldn't be good for him.

She tried to move to the side some so Steve could sidestep and maybe they would have more room. Steve followed but when Kayla's foot hit an object on the floor, her defense reaction was to jerk back which only brought her closer to Steve. Kayla told herself she threw her arms around Steve's waist to steady herself. Unfortunately they were right over Steve's bruises.

"Ow!" escaped his mouth, and Kayla flinched as she knew that was her fault. Kayla leaned up to Steve and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." She didn't remove her arms though.

Steve didn't feel anymore pain. Kayla was so close. Her breath was on his cheek. He shook his head no to tell her he was alright. The lighting in the pantry was very dim but he could make out her eyes. Trying to get some distance between them, Steve leaned his head back but that only served to give him a better view of her face.

Kayla arms had started reaching around to Steve's back. Before she knew it, she began rubbing her hands slightly in little circles. Steve's breath began increasing and Kayla attempted to stop. For all she knew she was making the pain hurt worse. But he wasn't complaining. The look on his face looked far from complaining in fact. Kayla glanced at his lips which were very close. Closer than they ever had been. She saw his head dip down and without knowing what she was doing, she reached up.

Their lips met briefly. Kayla's heart skipped a beat and before she could think. Steve leaned in and kissed her again. Having no control over her body, Kayla's mouth welcomed him while her arms circled up over his shoulders, at last caressing his hair with her fingers. As the kiss deepened, Steve's arms slid down her side and one hand reached around and began massaging the lower part of back, matching the pace of the kiss. Kayla barely managed to hold back a groan as she leaned in to him.

They allowed for only one second to separate to catch a needed breath of air then they were back tasting each other again. Kayla didn't hear Hope gently knock on the door and tell them when they could leave. She didn't hear her sister-in-law thank them for being so quiet. Kayla didn't hear anything but her own heartbeat.

Steve's other hand managed to raise up and reach behind Kayla's head, dipping it back so he could taste her better. Coherent thought left him; any pain from his injuries was gone as pleasure from touching Kayla was overtaking him. Kayla couldn't hold back the moans anymore and hearing them quickened Steve's pace. He pulled her to him tighter and their bodies fit perfectly. Losing feeling in his legs, he leaned to his right and Kayla went with him.

Literally. The rush of falling all the way to the ground shocked them enough to stop what they were doing. Steve had managed to take most of the blunt of the fall but Kayla was still in his arms. The reality of what just happened paralyzed them where they were. Kayla wanted to ask Steve if he was okay, but she was still very close to him and her body began leaning in again.

Hope's sudden presence stopped her. Kayla knew what it must look like to her. Hope was ordering them out of the kitchen, out the door in fact. It took all her strength to pull herself away from Steve. They both got up and Kayla couldn't bring herself to look at either one of them. She started out the door as Hope told her not to forget her purse. Steve managed to grab it for her, but he had to tell himself to hold onto it firmly because he didn't have a lot of strength right now. His mind was still not caught up with what was going on, and he shook his head to clear it. Not sure if it was lucky or not, Steve and Kayla had to hurry so fast to get away from the Kiriakis grounds that there was no time for them to really absorb what just happened.


	10. Chapter 10

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

On the way to Kayla's loft, both Steve and Kayla reflected on how quiet the other was being. Steve's mind was running a mile a minute. What happened back at Victor's had been something he had never dared to dream. Not just kissing Kayla but her response told him she wanted him too, it was too good to be true How could this amazing, caring, gorgeous woman even want to touch him, much less kiss him? Steve had seen hints of Kayla's passion but what happened in the pantry surprised him. Knowing now that she was just as passionate in the physical sense as she was when arguing with him was causing Steve to fight back desires stronger then he felt in a long time. He wasn't sure walking her up to her loft was such a good idea yet he couldn't bring himself to leave her either.

Meanwhile, Kayla's silence was her debating whether she should confront Steve on what happened or run away. Most of Steve's attitude towards her up to this point had been easily dismissed by Kayla as a man who enjoyed making a show of himself for shock value. He also knew exactly how to push Kayla's buttons to get her angry and she fell for it every time. Now Steve had found another way to get her worked up and she was really worried it meant no more to him than his usual behavior around her.

_No man could kiss like that and not feel something,_ Kayla thought. Her logical mind argued with it though, concentrating on his trying to intimidate her, saying those horrible remarks, blowing in her hair, and usually mocking everyone he saw. Daring to glance at him, thoughts of him saving Bo, his vulnerability with the patch, the roses and what he could do in the kitchen was defeating the logical points of her mind.

_Sweetness, I'm an expert at two rooms in a house, and the kitchen is the other one. _

Hearing Steve's voice in her mind increased her will to be home already. She needed to be alone to think about this, being around Steve was too distracting. The only problem with getting away from Steve was it meant getting away from Steve.

Arriving at the door to the loft, Steve waited for Kayla to get off the elevator and he followed. Watching her unlock the door, he fought back the will to touch her. Realizing he actually was still holding her purse, he waited until she faced him to hand it to her.

"Oh," Kayla said surprised, "I had forgotten...it was nice of you to carry it."

"Yeah, well, Hope nearly threw it at me, so I had no choice," he said while still staring purposely not making eye contact.

Kayla wanted to take that as a sign. Talking to Steve was one of the most impossible tasks any sane person could attempt, but before she could stop herself, she said, "We need to talk. Talk about what happened."

Hearing Kayla say that, Steve felt bothered. Thinking her matter of fact tone meant she was going to give him the brush off, Steve's ego answered her, "I didn't think it was talking that you wanted to do, Sweetness."

Kayla felt heat flush inside her. "Stop it, Steve. There was more to that kiss then just...then just..." Kayla struggled for the right words.

"Sex?" Steve said with a smile. Watching her eyes light up reminded him of the fire he felt back at Victor's and his body took a step towards her, inside the loft, "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Don't come in here!" she said quickly. Too quickly. If Steve came in she might not be able to get him to leave and when that thought appealed to her she moved to fight it by keeping him out.

Steve, hurt by Kayla's outburst, realized he was being foolish for even being around Kayla, much less expecting anything else. Glaring at her, he took a step back, "Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Brady. I didn't mean to overstep by bounds. I guess it's okay to maul me in a pantry, but once we are on your turf it's back to me being scary Patch."

"I would never call you that," Kayla said, "and I'm not scared of you. I just want to talk to you about..."

"Don't worry about it, Sweetness," Steve said, turning his back on her. He was getting in the elevator, knowing he needed to get away from Kayla as fast as possible. "If you think you are the only girl who can keep me company for the night, you really are naive."

Seething now, Kayla said, "Fine, go pick up one of your many girls. Call them next time you wind up getting beaten up!"

"I will!" Steve yelled back, then closed the elevator door.

Kayla slammed the loft door. She then threw the purse down onto the counter and held her head. She held back tears. She hadn't wanted to send Steve away like that. How can she be arguing with him one second, and then getting the kiss of her life the next? How was she supposed to know who Steve really was if he kept giving her these confusing signals?

Steve stood in the elevator letting the tears come. It was better this way. Kayla was not his type anyway. He wasn't good enough for her, but she would probably drive him crazy anyway. Stepping out of the elevator, Steve didn't believe that thought anymore than he thought he could fly, but it was all he had to keep him going.


	11. Chapter 11

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Kayla's eyes flew open as she gasped for breath. Checking the clock, she saw it was only five minutes before her alarm was set to go off. Sitting up, she held her head as she thought about the dream she was experiencing only a few minutes earlier.

In it, Steve had came into her bedroom and she told him to take his shirt off. He grinned and lowered himself into her bed and they began to kiss. As Kayla was begging for more, reality cruelly woke her up.

Forcing herself out of bed, Kayla went to take a shower. Her mind managed to let the memory of the dream leave, but it was only replaced by the real memory of Steve's kiss in the pantry. Irritated that she couldn't stop herself from these thoughts, Kayla flew through her shower and went to work on her hair.

Thinking of the last things Steve said to her, Kayla couldn't help but wonder how Steve's life had gotten to such a point that kept him from allowing himself to open up to people. He obviously had instincts to be a good person. He didn't hesitate to save Bo at his own great personal risk. The roses he sent Kayla were obviously meant to thank her for helping him, and Hope was able to get Steve not just drop everything to make sure she was alright but help her out to save face.

Finishing up with clothes and make up, Kayla realized if she was going to get to really understand Steve, she was going to just have to grit her teeth, roll up her sleeves and dive in head first. Checking her watch, she knew she had time before she had to be at work. There was only one person she was interested in talking too.

Steve heard knocking and lifted his head out of bed. The knocking was growing louder and Steve managed to walk up the stairs and open the door. There stood Kayla giving him a look that took his breath away.

"Kayla, what are you doing here?"

She took a step towards him, "I felt badly about last night. When I said we needed to talk, what I mean was I wanted to get to know you better."

Steve couldn't believe what he was hearing, "No, you don't. You want me to be like a guy like Chris, well, I'm not, I'm a nobody."

Kayla shushed him, putting her hand on his lips. "I want to know you, Steve. I want to get to know the real you."

Steve felt his breath leave as she put her hand down. He dipped his head towards her as she said, "And this is the best way I know how." Steve's arms wrapped around her as they kissed. Just as the kiss began to deepen, Steve felt someone jerk him around and suddenly Hope was in front of him yelling, "What are you doing?"

Steve woke up with a start! Breathing heavy, he had been having dreams like that all night. He was never going to get any rest if he kept dreaming about Kayla coming to his apartment.

"Like that would happen!" Steve said. Walking over to his small refrigerator, Steve poured a glass of orange juice and drank it practically in one gulp. Standing there, he still couldn't get Kayla out of his head. Kissing her yesterday was probably the stupidest thing he had ever done. Now knowing what she tasted like and felt like, Kayla was going to be more distracting then ever. Even so, her actions of the last few days told him that Kayla was not just Bo Brady's sister anymore. Calling her a good person was an understatement. Hope had said it better the other day, Kayla was really special.

Shaking his head, he decided he better head over to Victor and tell him the truth. He can send ten more goons to beat him up, but he wasn't going to spy on Kayla anymore, and the old man better not send another guy in his place.


	12. Chapter 12

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Kayla waited for Hope to walk into the living after being led in by James, the butler.

"Kayla!" greeted Hope. "I am surprised you came by."

Kayla grinned Hope looked nervous like Kayla was going to come in with a bullhorn and ask her if she remembered to take the lobsters out of the oven last night.

"Relax, Hope. How did everything go last night?"

Hope sighed, "Fine. The dinner went well. No one said much about the food but it was really an odd night. I was hardly spoken to. Shortly after dessert almost everyone got up and adjourned to Victor's private study." Hope nearly went on some more but decided she didn't want to get into it. She had already fumed all night on the matter.

Sensing there was another reason Kayla stopped by, she asked, "Is something wrong? You look like you have something on your mind."

"There is," Kayla said nervously, "I was hoping that you could tell me something. That is, I need to ask about..."

"Steve," Hope finished. Off Kayla's look, she couldn't suppress her smile, "Did you forget how I found the two of you yesterday?

Kayla blushed. She had forgotten Hope's witnessing it. Clearing her throat, she said, "I'm not sure what it looked like..."

"But you could tell me what it felt like," Hope said teasingly.

"Hope!" Kayla now very red.

Hope grinned at her friend, "You might as well get used to lines like that if you are going to hang out with Steve."

Before Kayla could protest, Hope told her, "Come on, follow me up to the stairs, I was going through some old clothes and can use a woman's opinion." Kayla did, feeling so embarrassed she wondered if her ears were red.

Following the brunette into her bedroom, Kayla didn't know where to start. She decided to let Hope start for her. She sat down on the bed and waited for the other woman to begin. When nothing came out, she looked up and found Hope regarding her with an odd expression on her face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Hope smiled, "You really like Steve don't you?"

"No, I don't!" squeaked Kayla. Hearing her friend laugh, she went on, "I mean it! It's not funny. I just was wondering what it is that makes him so..."

Hope interrupted, "infuriating. He can be. But he can be a decent guy too. At times."

Kayla looked down not sure if she could ask anymore.

"I have known Steve to do some pretty crummy things," Hope said, but then smiled, "but when you least expect it, he will be there besides you at your darkest hour. And even then, you didn't have to ask."

Kayla sat there not sure if she should ask the question she really wanted to ask. Deciding to bite the bullet, she looked at Hope and asked, "Do you know what happened to Steve's eye?"

Hope nearly dropped the dresses she was putting in the box. Knowing full well she was the last person who should tell that story to Kayla, she took a deep breath and said, "It's not for me to tell."

"So you do know?" Kayla asked tentatively, "I know it's none of my business, but when I saw under the patch the other day..." 

"He let you see under it?"

"Yes, when he was beat up. I had to. It needed cleaning with the sweat and blood on him. He was terrified for me to remove the patch."

Hope listened to her friend who appeared lost in the memory. Not sure what to tell her, she simply said, "Kayla, I can't tell you what happened to that. I will say...I will say the experience hurt more than the physical pain."

Kayla knew Hope was right, but she was dying to know what events led up to it. "I know Steve can be a real jerk sometimes, well most of the time. But in this little time I have known him, there were a few moments I felt like I could see something in him that has always been there but hidden."

Kayla laughed a bit at that, but she continued, "I know, I sound starry-eyed. I'm not trying to white wash him to explain away these...whatever it is I feel around him."

"Attraction, desire," Hope helpfully reminded her.

"I'm not sure it's that," Kayla said, ignoring the snort Hope gave, "I just think the man we see today is the man he knows people expect him to be. Underneath that though is a good man..."

"Kayla," Hope warned, "I know where you are going with this. I just want to warn you to be careful. I'm not saying what you just said isn't true, and Lord knows I'm the last person to tell you not to try to date what others perceive as a 'bad boy', but don't go out looking at Steve like he's a diamond in the rough either."

"So you are saying I should walk away from Steve?" Kayla said bitterly.

"No, actually I honestly don't want you to do that either. I have come to care for Steve myself and I would love to see him happy. I just want you to be sure you understand that it won't be as easy as finding out about his past."

Kayla nodded. She knew that. She laughed, "I just am trying to get to understand him better, Hope. I want to be a friend to him, but he makes it so hard."

Hope laughed, "That I can understand. But it looked to me that yesterday you were wanting to be more than friends."

Again, Kayla blushed, "I can't deny what you saw yesterday. The way he was when he was cooking, and the roses he sent..."

"Roses?"

"Yes,' Kayla admitted, "Steve was the one that sent those roses. I feel terrible as I just assumed in front of his face they were from Chris. Thank you for suggesting I go...wait! Did you already know they were from him?"

Hope shrugged, "I guessed but didn't know for sure. He saw me at Shenanigans and he was suddenly interested in our family I figured it was because of his interest in you. Now I guess it might just be a thank you for you nursing him the other night."

"Oh," Kayla answered, feeling slightly disappointed. "Well, I guess I have taken too much of your time, besides I have to get to work."

The two women said their goodbyes and Kayla headed down the stairs. She was almost out of the door when she heard a familiar voice coming from the main living room. Knowing full well who it was, she stood near the entrance and saw Steve Johnson pacing and gesturing widely towards Victor.

"You heard me," Steve was going on, "I'm not working for you anymore. I don't want your money, you can do what you want, you already had me beaten. I'm through."

"If that's how you want it, Steven," Victor said, "if you think losing one thug out of my daily arsenal is going to hurt my business, you obviously overestimated your talents."

Kayla's shock at the scene was so strong she let out an audible gasp.

The sound was enough to make Steve turn around and see Kayla there. She turned and ran away. Steve took one last look at Victor who voiced, "Please don't slam the door on your way to catch her."

Biting back an angry retort, Steve ran out of the house and slammed the door as hard as he could.


	13. Chapter 13

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

"Kayla! KAYLA!" Steve screamed.

She wasn't listening. She didn't want to listen. She had no intention of listening ever. She could hear Steve running up behind her as she made her way off the Kiriakis grounds. He grabbed her arm but she jerked it away.

"Don't you touch me!" she said. "Don't you ever touch me again."

Steve swallowed as he caught his breath. Though his wounds were healing, he couldn't run like he usually could and Kayla was like the wind. Looking at her he said, "Listen, Kayla, let me explain."

"Explain? Explain what?" The look Kayla gave him made Steve feel very cold in the summer heat.

"It's not what it looks like," he said trying to think what he could tell her.

Kayla wasn't going to let him try to con her, "Don't try to tell me that was you simply quitting the freight company? I'm not as stupid as you think I am."

"I don't think you are stupid, Sweetness," he said softly.

"Don't call me Sweetness!" she yelled at him. Then she began to sneer, "Oh, you do think I'm stupid. I actually felt sorry for you the other night with all those bruises." At the last word she slugged him slightly in the side, making Steve wince.

"Sweet...Kayla, please, let me explain. What you just saw, what you overheard..."

"Do you know why I was over there? I was visiting Hope. I wanted to know more about you, if she could let me know why you acted like you do...why..." Kayla stopped as tears were coming in. She couldn't believe she had wasted this much time on a guy like him. "I told Hope I knew you could be a jerk at times but there was a good man underneath."

Steve didn't know what to say to that. He hadn't known Kayla would go to Hope like that. Hadn't expected it. Certainly didn't expect her to think about him at all. Why would she even care? Remembering the kiss from the day before made Steve feel more ashamed at the situation. If she only knew what he was doing for Kiriakis.

Kayla turned on her heel and walked off. She needed to get to work. Yelling at Steve on the streets was a waste of time. This whole morning had been a waste of time. She heard Steve behind her. He was still trying to explain.

"I don't want you to explain."

"Yes, I worked for Victor. But I'm done now. I quit. That's why I was there." Steve kept walking as Kayla said nothing. "Shouldn't that mean something?"

She whirled around so fast he jumped back, "What did you do for him?"

The look in her eyes scared Steve. He had seen Kayla mad plenty of times before, but this look was not something he liked seeing in her. "What does it matter? I'm done..."

"It does matter. I want to know. What were you doing for him?"

Steve knew very well he didn't want to tell her what he was really doing. Hearing that he followed her around and reported her movements back to Victor would push her away so that she would never speak to him again. Steve didn't like the idea of never seeing or speaking to Kayla again. He hated it.

"Nothing..I"

At the lie, Kayla said fine, and then continued walking. He wasn't going to tell the truth. He hasn't told her the truth since they met, why should he now?

"Kayla, come on. It's.. it's not what you think."

"What I think is no concern to you."

"Yes it is!"

"Why?" Kayla asked. Steve didn't have an answer for that. He didn't know. He heard her say under her breath, "That's what I thought."

"No, Kayla, I want you to understand that whatever happened with Victor, it's over now. I'm done with him."

"Again, what did you do for him?" When he didn't answer, Kayla continued, "Okay, why did you work for him in the first place? See, you don't want to tell me. That's fine. I'm sure it's because I don't want to know. Which means I really don't want to know you."

By now they were at the Emergency Center. Before going in, Kayla stopped and looked at Steve. Trying to say as calmly possible, "I need to go in and get to work. I'm late as it is. Don't follow me in there. I don't want to keep talking to you. I don't want to see you. If you..." she was about to say cared, but choked on the words, "If you planned to hang out here all day, let me assure you that I will call my brother, Roman."

"I'm not a criminal, Sweetness."

"How could I know that? The way you act, the way you present yourself to people. I thought it was a front. Obviously I was wrong."

"Kayla, I..."

"Please leave," she said, and then she turned and went inside. Steve stood outside the clinic and decided he needed to go. There was nothing he could say at this point. He began walking away, wondering what he could possibly do or say to get Kayla to understand he wasn't like that.


	14. Chapter 14

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Steve never felt so depressed in his life. He stood in front of his locker at the freight company, his supposed "job" and was emptying it out. Not that he had much there. A couple of extra t-shirts and some hygiene products. He wondered if he would have time to run into the bathrooms and pick up some extra rolls of toilet paper for home.

Steve had come straight there from the emergency center, Kayla's words still echoing in his head. It was hard enough to know she was angry at him, but hearing what she said to him bothered him more than he thought it should. It really was none of her business the way he ran his life. Who cared if she hated him? Who cared if she thought he was just some hired street thug? He lived his life not caring what others thought of him; whatever a self-righteous nurse thought of him on the river front was of no concern.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you at work?"

Steve turned to the origin of the voice. There stood Bo, looking angry. Steve wondered how his former best friend could be in charge of this "company" yet have no idea who was working when and what position. "I think you should call up, Daddy, Beauregard," Steve said, "it seems you didn't know when he hired me to be your foreman and now he didn't let you know I no longer work here."

Bo snorted, "Fired you, did he?"

Steve slammed the door at that. Glaring at the younger man, he said, "Hardly. I quit."

Bo's shock was evident, "Quit? Why would you quit?"

Steve wanted to come back with his usual smart alack retort. Briefly, Kayla's words came to his mind, and he decided to just be truthful, "Because, Bo, I don't want to work for that man. I am getting out of his schemes. If you had any brains, you would too."

Bo became annoyed, "Oh, don't you even try to lecture me.."

"Lecture?" Steve asked incredulously. "What are you doing here, man? You have a beautiful wife who is pregnant with your baby..."

"You know about that?" Bo asked getting angry.

"Yea, I know, and don't worry, I won't tell anyone. But it's just stupid. If I had a wife like Hope who goes out of her way to do what he does for you..." he trailed off. Bo was an idiot. He just started to walk away.

"Steve, you know nothing about what I'm doing. It's none of your business..." Bo said.

"No, it's not. Is it?" Steve said, "But Hope and the Brady's are your business and what you're doing here with Victor is hurting them. Putting Victor first over them is just so...even with his money. I know to expect this behavior from you but they..."

The last sentence was the last straw, Bo threw Steve up against the lockers, getting in his face. He started to say something but realized it was pointless. When he stepped away from Steve, he noticed a weird look on his face. It disappeared quickly though as Steve reached down to pick up the items he dropped.

"I have to go now," Steve said weirdly. He left so quickly Bo wondered what had happened.

Getting outside, Steve looked walked around to the side in the nearby ally. Putting down his items, he pulled out the one thing that wasn't his. A tape recorder. When Bo threw him against the wall, Steve's hands had gone into a defensive position and Steve felt it there in Bo's jacket pocket. Thinking fast, he quickly picked it. At the time, he wasn't sure what it was but something inside him told him to do it.

Not being one to wait for anything, Steve rewound it some and then pushed play. Instantly he heard voices. One was notably Victor's but the others weren't. They were talking about a shipment arriving which needed special attention. Victor was negotiating how his men would unload the cargo at a "special time" but needed to be assured he was going to be remembered for this favor.

Steve didn't have time to listen to anymore when he felt a hand on his back yank him around. There stood Bo looking red. "Give me that!" he said and grabbed the tape recorder out of Steve's hand.

Watching Bo check it out to make sure the tape was still in it, Steve was beginning to view Bo very different than he had a few minutes before.

"Bo, what have you got yourself into?"

"It's none of your business," he spat back.

A small smile formed on Steve's lips as everything started sinking in. "Are you really trying to take down Victor all by yourself? Oh, Bo, that's just so...stupid."

Bo shushed Steve then attempted to throw him against the wall again, but Steve had enough of letting Junior push him around. Side stepping Bo, Steve reversed the situation and now held Bo's back to the wall.

"Let me go!" Bo ordered.

"I don't work for you anymore, so no. Not until you tell me what the hell you are doing!" Steve said.

Bo pushed Steve off him. What was he to do now? Steve knowing could jeopardize this whole thing. Looking down he groaned when he saw Steve had the tape recorder back. How the hell does he do that?

Steve laughed at Bo's frustration and said, "Better tell me what you are doing. I'm not going away quietly if you don't."

Knowing he had no choice, Bo began to tell him.


	15. Chapter 15

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Steve listened to Bo in the alley beside Victor's company. They had moved back out of sight from anyone passing by. Bo began to tell Steve his initial plan of getting close to Victor but as details started to come out, the relief Bo felt at finally sharing propelled him to go on. For a little while, as Steve simply kept his mouth shut, it felt like old times.

Until Bo got done. Now knowing he had jeopardized his operation, Bo couldn't risk Steve screwing it up. Bo's face turned hard as he said, "Now, how much?"

Confused, Steve asked, "How much what?"

"How much do I have to pay you to keep you from going to my father with this?"

Steve started to lunge at Bo but caught himself in time, he replied, "You think I would do that?"

"Yes."

"I just told you, Junior, that I'm through with working for the old man. I meant it. And anyway," Steve said starting to smile, "telling Victor this information will defeat the purpose."

Bo became suspicious, "What purpose?"

"Of helping you."

"No," Bo said firmly, "you are not going to be helping me. No! Get that thought right out of your head."

Steve leaned back onto the wall, "Now, with what you told me about this shipment coming in..."

"Forget about that," Bo said, realizing Steve was completely serious. "You aren't going to help with anything. I got this covered."

Steve laughed hard at that. Quieting down, he replied, "Oh, yeah. You got things covered. You and your tape recorder. What, did you have this thing taped under the table while Victor was having his meetings?"

Bo's silence spoke volumes which made Steve chuckle more. He couldn't help but say, "God help this baby of yours coming. Between you and Hope's thorough planning that kid is in big trouble."

"What are you talking about?" Bo asked feeling very weary.

"Nothing. Listen, you need my help. Admit it. This thing Vic has planned for tomorrow night is too big for you to take on by yourself. If you show up there it's going to be suspicious. Let me go and handle this for you, that way if I get caught, you won't be suspected."

Bo knew Steve was making sense. When he initially heard the conversation he knew it was a perfect opportunity to wreak havoc in not just Victor's organization but others as well. The problem was there was no way that he would be able to sneak into the warehouse where the delivery would take place. Victor kept tabs on Bo at night not to mention explaining to Hope where he was going.

However, Bo still didn't trust Steve. "How do I know you won't get caught accidentally on purpose?"

"Because I told you I won't!" Steve spat at him.

"I'm afraid that isn't good enough, Steve," Bo said, "I'm not going to risk this whole thing..."

"Man, what are you going to do? Go in there yourself? Listen, Bo," Steve pleaded, "let me help you. Really. I know, I know I haven't given you much reason to trust me, but I want to help. I do."

Steve felt almost foolish. What was wrong with him? He wasn't sure what was driving him to help Bo other than bringing Victor down. Bo reluctantly agreed, knowing he didn't have a choice. He told Steve he would meet him the next day and go over the details then.

Steve walked away, almost forgetting his personal items he came for in the first place. Steve's mind focused on Kayla and he started smiling. Life didn't seem nearly as depressing as it was before.


	16. Chapter 16

**Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

The next afternoon, Bo arrived at Steve's place to go over the plan. Bo was still nervous, not anywhere near having the trust in Steve that was required. Steve decided for once he would keep his opinions to himself. Waking up that morning, Steve was determined to help out in this plan hoping that maybe bringing down Victor, Steve could make up working for the old man in the past.

"So you're sure you got everything figured out?" Bo asked.

Steve nodded, they had only gone over it a hundred times. "Yes, Bo, I think I know how to spy on someone without them noticing."

Bo sighed, "Steve, the spying isn't the only thing you are doing. That's for evidence to give to the police later, but you have got to find a way to ruin the ship-"

"I know!" Steve said, "I don't want this stuff floating around anymore than you do, Bo."

Bo looked at his watch, "Okay, well, I have to go now. Remember, when you are done, don't forget about the signal so I know it was successful.

Steve nodded. The signal was probably the thing Steve liked least. He tried to tell Bo they shouldn't be seen anywhere near each other that night, but he was insistent. He wasn't about to let Steve "help" if he didn't agree to come by Shenanigans after he was finished. He would leave the photos in a marked spot and nod to Bo who would be dining there with Hope. Any problems, Steve would have another signal to let him know. Steve kept his mouth shut that if there were any real problems he probably won't make it to Shenanigans.

Watching Bo leave, Steve felt anxious and almost giddy. He decided that he was hungry, leaving his apartment he headed up the stairs to the restaurant.

Walking in, Steve noticed there was no room at the bar so he sat down at a nearby table. The waiter came over and got Steve's order, and Steve waited while drumming on the table. Looking to his right, he saw a kid, about nine years old, sitting at the table who was just staring at Steve. Steve stared back, and then grinned. The kid grinned wider.

His mother wasn't paying attention to him but he had a toy train he was scooting along the table deck. Seeing the train reminded Steve of his own toy train back in his memory box. It was the only tangible thing he had left of when he was with his parents and Billy. It seemed even as a kid, Steve started out in a hole.

Hearing the boy's mother tell her son to remain where he was as she was going to bathroom brought Steve back to the present. The kid began pushing his train but looked bored. Not being able to resist, Steve moved his chair a little closer and began mimicking a train whistle on his harmonica. Hearing the "train" sounds, the boy was delighted and began pushing his train around the table. Steve had to keep from laughing as he kept playing and the kid kept pushing the train around and around.

It all came to a stop when the mother walked up and glared at him. "What are you doing?" she asked angrily.

Steve was surprised and stammered a little, "Well, the kid was kind of bored so I..."

The woman took her son's hand and said, "Come along, Arnold. Let's get out of here." As they walked out, Steve could hear the woman admonishing the child for talking to strangers. Sighing, he suddenly had lost his appetite and told Joe at the bar to forget about his order.

Steve didn't notice that Kayla was sitting in the corner watching the whole time. The minute Steve walked in she had cowardly hid behind her newspaper. Since yesterday, Kayla had tried to think about anything else other than Steve Johnson. She failed miserably.

Her anger from before wasn't directed so much at him as it was at herself. How she allowed herself to believe Steve was anything more than a street thug was disappointing to say the least. In some ways, she was glad she had stumbled upon Steve's resignation to Victor so she could see what kind of company he kept. The memory of that helped block out the recent positive memories of Steve.

On the other hand, it didn't block out what her body felt about Steve, thanks to that stupid kiss. She dreamed about him again the night before and Kayla wondered how long she was going to put up with whatever this was. However, that was before seeing Steve walk into Shenanigans.

Watching him with the boy, Kayla couldn't keep the smile off her face. The train whistle was adorable, how he ever came up with figuring out how to play it on the harmonica she would never know. The mother's attitude towards Steve was extreme and Kayla had to stop herself from saying something to the woman when she was on her way out the door. If anyone other person had simply entertained the kid from a table away the woman probably would have thanked them, but because of Steve's unique look, the woman freaked out unnecessarily. Seeing the change in Steve was obvious and Kayla again found herself drawn to him. How could this man do that? One minute he had her so angry and disgusted and the next he could show such vulnerability and compassion. In this case he didn't even know she was there.

Paying her tab, Kayla got up to go back to work. Her lunch break was over and she didn't want to spend the day thinking anymore on Steve Johnson. It was exhausting.


	17. Chapter 17

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

"It's almost eleven, Bo, we need to go home," Hope said annoyed. When her husband mentioned taking her out to dinner, she had happily agreed, thinking for once they could forget the recent nightmares that had been following their families and just be with each other for a change.

The evening was fine until about an hour earlier. They were ordering dessert and Bo started acting anxious; checking the doorway, looking at his watch. Hope was irritated because she knew he was keeping something from her, but whatever it was, she had no idea.

Hearing his wife mention the time, Bo tried to be as nonchalant as possible when he said, "Already? I feel like dancing, don't you feel like dancing?"

Hope glared at Bo. She hated it when he was acting like this, "You've been acting anxious all evening but since ten you have been acting like you would prefer to be somewhere else. What's going on, Brady?"

Bo smiled, he knew by her tone he was in trouble but seeing his wife's beautiful face looking angry at him brought back some old times. Trying to change the subject, he said, "Do you remember the first time you called me, Brady?"

"Bo!" Hope yelled throwing her napkin on the table. "Don't change the subject. What is going on?"

"Nothing."

"I know you better than that."

"I just thought I saw someone I knew, that's all," Bo said, cursing Steve under his breath. Where was the lunkhead? He should have been back at least an hour ago. Either something went wrong or worse, Steve double-crossed him. Realizing it could have been the latter, Bo decided he was going to have to risk his pregnant wife's wrath by finding out what happened.

"Fancy-face, I'm sorry," he said, getting up. "I know you are angry with me. I just need...I need to go run an errand."

"An errand?" Hope repeated.

Bo threw some money on the table, and said, "Listen, if Victor asks where I am, tell him I decided to go over paperwork at the company because I remembered an incorrect invoice and I couldn't leave it alone until I fixed it." Leaving, Bo knew whatever he had to do to deal with Steve was going to be a piece of cake to what Hope would have in store for him when he got home.

Hope tried to call after him but he was out the door. She couldn't believe it. He just ditched her. She thought this dinner was going to be about them. Feeling defeated, she got up from the table. She knew it was late but she did not want to return to that mansion without Bo. Asking to use the phone at the bar, she dialed a familiar number. "Kayla? Did I wake you? Good, can I come over? Please? I'd like to just spend the night there if I can."

Bo walked quietly on the docks, headed to pier 14 which was supposed to be where the drop off was. Not surprisingly, the docks were deserted but to be on the safe side Bo crept cautiously around the storage warehouses which was something that came naturally to him. Getting closer, he found the window that led into the storage building where Steve was supposed to be. He reached up to the window to pull himself in but jerked his hand back when he felt blood.

"Damn, Steve, what happened?" Bo said out loud.

"Bo?" he heard a voice answer him. Turning to the sound, he wandered around to another dead end alleyway to find Steve lying on his side. Forgetting he was supposed to be quiet, Bo yelled, "What the hell happened to you?" Steve shushed him.

"It's a long story," Steve said. He tried to get up but fell back down.

Bo reached down and said, "Well, everyone is gone now. Did they see you? Did you get the pictures? Where's my camera?"

Irritated at Bo's priorities, Steve answered, "I got the pictures, my damn leg has nearly come off, but by God I have those pictures."

"What happened?"

Sighing, Steve wasn't sure he should get into it. He arrived early to get into place to make sure he could get angles of all the men located there. The warehouse was big and large, with multiple storage boxes stacked high into the rafters. He had managed to climb up on top of these boxed columns, hoping if needed he could jump around undetected.

Unfortunately, Bo had neglected to tell him that the shipment that came in was going to use some of these boxes in the warehouse to transport the materials across the country. After Steve had gotten one good roll of pictures he chose a bad moment to direct his attention away from the actions below so he could switch the film. He heard a fork lift coming but didn't realize it was for his column until it was too late.

The good news or bad news depending on how you looked at it, was Steve's distraction wasn't noticed because the idiot who moved the crates didn't know what he was doing and had chose the wrong box to bring to the floor to pack the drugs in. His bad choice led to the boxes falling which would have happened anyway, but Steve's presence meant he would fall with them, but Steve managed to jump through some columns and push a few more boxes from other columns.

The goons that were being used by Victor and his associates to unload the drugs from the ship were fooled but unfortunately Steve wound up breaking the camera and injuring his leg in the fall. Hobbling between boxes now, Steve was helpless to wait and watch as Victor came in with a couple of other mob bosses and inspected the contents. Steve could have swore when he knew he would have had a perfect picture of Victor right in the act if he had only paid more attention or Forkbrains had known what he was doing with the fork lift.

After everyone was gone, getting out of the warehouse was harder than getting in since he couldn't use his legs to climb out. The window wasn't too high but required a small jump which Steve kept failing to do. He finally got out but only through scraping his hands raw hence the blood Bo felt. After he climbed out of the building, Steve managed to make it around the corner but the pain in his leg was too much for him, especially given he was still hurting with busted ribs from days before. That's when Bo showed up.

But there wasn't time to get into that now. They needed to get out of here. Steve shook his head, "Later, I have some pictures but I'm afraid the rest of the job was a bust," off the glare Bo gave him, "Look, FIRE me! Just, just help me get home. I'll tell you everything there."

Bo finally took pity on his old friend, when he saw the pain that was evident on his face when he tried to stand. Shaking his head, he said, "No, you don't need to go home. We have to get you to a hospital."

"I can't go to a hospital!" Steve answered.

Bo glared, "I thought you said you weren't seen!"

"I wasn't, but I think they are going to find some..." Steve decided to not mention the camera parts on the floor and just go with other evidence, "blood and know someone was here last night. It would be best if we just skip the hospital to play it safe." Steve grunted at the last word as Bo helped him up.

"You're right, but you need someone to look at you. I guess lucky for you her loft isn't far away."

Steve's heart leaped as he knew exactly who Bo was talking about. He hoped the darkness hid the smile he had so Bo couldn't see it.


	18. Chapter 18

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Kayla picked up the ice cream cartons as Hope went upstairs for a shower. It was now after midnight and Kayla was glad to finally have a reason to stay up other than worry about what she would dream about. She was off the next day so it wasn't like she necessarily needed the sleep. Having Hope here allowed her mind to occupy itself on something other than Steve for a change. She had no idea what had gotten into her little brother, she could understand his isolation from the Brady family thanks to mom's affair with Victor all those years ago, but why push Hope away like this? It didn't make sense. She knew he loved her more than anything, so why act this way?

Finishing up, Kayla heard a knock at the door and Kayla's mind wondered who in the world it could be. Hesitantly, she asked who it was. Hearing Bo yell through the door, Kayla looked up towards where Hope had gone, and believed he had come to get his wife. Feeling protective of her best friend, Kayla charged at the door, fully intending to give Bo a piece of her mind.

When she opened the door, the shock at seeing Steve leaning on Bo, breathing heavily and the sight of blood, Kayla changed her mind. "What.… what happened?" Kayla asked as she immediately ran to Steve's other side, checking him out for injuries.

Steve laughed, though obviously in pain, "Well, we were in the neighborhood, so we thought we'd stop by."

"Shut up, Steve," Bo said, in no mood to hear Steve's lip after carrying him for several blocks.

After getting Steve to her couch, Kayla looked towards her brother, repeating, "What happened?"

Bo gave a quick glance to Steve. He had already talked to him about not sharing the truth with Kayla. Steve agreed, so together they came up with a story. Bo smiled, "I had a hard day at work today, so I decided to blow off some steam and ran into Steve outside the Cheating Heart. He had to run his mouth like he usually does, and the next thing I know I pushed him."

Steve answered, trying to sound angry, "Right down some stairs if you can believe it, baby."

Even without knowing what Hope said earlier, Kayla knew it was a lie, but playing along, she asked Steve, "What did you say?"

Steve smirked, "It's not polite to say in mixed company, Sweetness."

Walking over to get her first aid kid, Kayla walked back, "So…what made you say it?"

"Oh, Steve, he had several beers in him, I had several beers in me. Things just got out of hand. Can you please just patch him up so we can get out of here and I can get home?"

"Back to your wife, you mean?" Kayla said, glaring at Bo. "Did you tell her where you were going?"

Bo shrugged, not expecting the question, "Oh, just out. I mean, I told her I had had a bad day and I was going to get a few drinks. You know, she is probably really worried about me and I need to call home." He walked over to the phone but Steve stopped him.

"I don't think that's a good idea, man," Steve said.

Bo looked at Steve like he was nuts, "Why not?"

"Because, you know, you could wake up the whole household…" he said as subtly as possible.

Bo realizing what Steve meant, put the receiver down and came back, "Yea, I guess you're right."

Kayla was working on Steve's cuts on his fingers. She had no idea what the two had been up to, but this act they were doing was over. She demanded, "Great performance, guys, now tell me, where were you really?"

Bo looked like he was hurt, "My sister doesn't believe me? Kay, c'mon, I'm telling you the truth."

"Really," Kayla said, giving her brother her stare down that she knew he hated since they were kids. Steve couldn't stop the smile on his lips; he loved watching Kayla handling Bo. "Do you think I'm stupid? I know he does," she said, referring to Steve.

Angry she was bringing that up again, Steve shook his head, "Kayla, I do not think you are stup-"

Interrupting Steve, Kayla began shouting, "You guys come in here in the middle of the night and Steve looks like he was dragged under a truck. A look, it seems, he is trying to perfect by the way. There isn't a scratch on you, Bo, are you really telling me that you guys got rough with each other and Bo doesn't have a mark on him?"

"I'm a tough guy."

Steve snorted at that, not liking the implication he couldn't handle Junior. "Listen, Sweetness… "

Again, Kayla interrupted him, "Not to mention, neither one of you smell like alcohol." This shut them up, both looking at each other wondering how that obvious detail slipped by them. They both started talking at the same time, but another voice stopped them.

"Bo Brady!" Hope said, glaring at her husband.

"Hope!" Bo said, clearly shocked to see his wife. "What are you doing…"

"Oh nooooooo! You don't get to ask me where I have been, Brady. I have put up with a lot, and now I see who you left me for at dinner, now I want to know exactly what is going on."

Bo stammered, "Okay, I know there is a good explanation."

Steve tried to listen to the delightful show of Hope yelling at Bo but Kayla's checking out his leg was distracting him completely. While the married couple were still fighting, Steve said, "Is it broken?"

Kayla tried to keep her voice steady as she replied, "No, but its sprained good."

She turned to look at him and Steve felt his mouth go dry. What was it about her that had such an effect on him? She asked him what happened again. He opened his mouth to tell her, but then realized it wasn't his secret to tell. He promised Bo.

"I can't say," and he looked towards Bo. Kayla followed his gaze and realized Hope would yell at Bo all night at this rate.

"Hope," she said interrupting. "Let's let Bo explain, he's just going to have to come clean about this. I'm sure there is a reason you brought Steve here instead of taking him to the hospital and if you want me to keep quiet I expect to get the truth."

Realizing he was busted, Bo knew there was no way around it. Sitting down on a nearby stool, Bo started telling the whole story of what he said to Steve the other day. Kayla and Hope listened but couldn't help giving up little "Why didn't you tell me?" type questions during the story. Steve then gave his account of the warehouse which was the first time Bo had heard it. Kayla was moved that Steve would help her brother in this but Bo, learning what happened to his camera, wasn't so happy.

"Do you know much that thing cost me?" Bo asked. 

Another argument happened but this time it was between Bo and Steve. Hope and Kayla finally settled them down after a few minutes. Hope, realizing it was nearly one in the morning, grabbed Bo's hand, "C'mon, Bo, let's go home."

"What? Wait, we need to get Steve home," Bo said, not about to leave Steve there at his sister's place.

"Oh, no we don't. I'm tired, Victor probably knows that we never returned home and we need to get home together. We'll let him know we were having a night on the town, but Steve can just stay here as it's not good for him to walk on that leg anymore tonight."

Bo couldn't believe he was going to give in, but the exhaustion and the fact that Steve could hardly walk on his own made him do so. Before leaving, he gave a quick thank you kiss to his sister, but followed it up with a long warning look to Steve.

Kayla shut the door. Bo and Hope had left so quickly, she could hardly believe what just happened. All of it, in fact, from Steve and Bo coming in, and then realizing Steve was going to spend the night.

Still facing the door, Kayla heard Steve say, "So, which way to your bedroom, Sweetness?"

Turning around with a look that Steve knew all too well, Kayla answered, "You are going to be staying right there on the couch."

Steve started to protest, but the throbbing from his leg made him realize tonight wasn't a good night to tease Kayla. No matter how much he wanted her to give in and let him accompany her.

"Ok, Sweetness, you win, but I hope you won't wake me up too early, I need my beauty sleep."

Kayla ignored his remarks and grabbed a pillow and blanket. Watching him take his boots and shirt off, Kayla tried to think about Grandma Brady plucking out her chin hairs to keep her libido in check. It wasn't working.

As she covered him, Steve smiled, "You are awfully quiet."

"I'm tired," Kayla said as she handed him the pillow. She was about three feet away and it was as close as she would dare get with him. He took the pillow and put it under his head. Kayla began walking to the staircase, turning the light off on her way.

"Goodnight, Steve," Kayla said softly.

"Sweet dreams, Kayla," Steve returned.


	19. Chapter 19

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Kayla awoke to a wonderful smell. The aroma was filling her upstairs bedroom and had her stomach growling. Taking a second to remember the events of the night before, Kayla's cheeks flushed when she realized that Steve must be cooking downstairs. Knowing how good he was in the kitchen she wondered what he could have possibly found in hers to cook.

_Sweetness, I'm an expert at two rooms in a house, and the kitchen is the other one._

_Trying to pull herself together Kayla took a deep breath and headed down the stairs. Just as she guessed, Steve was in the kitchen over her stove. He had made quite a mess actually, but the smell was so good Kayla didn't mind._

_"Morning, Sweetness," Steve said with a grin. Seeing Kayla emerge down the steps straight out of bed took his breath away, but he recovered enough to get the greeting out._

_Kayla walked up and surprise was on her face, as she said, "What are you making?"_

_"Omelets."_

_"I don't have enough food to make omelets."_

_Steve laughed, clearly Kayla didn't know what she had in her kitchen. He looked at her confused look and smirked, "You didn't have much, but there is enough for my specialty omelet. It's an original Patch-tastic recipe."_

_Kayla hated that nickname, but in spite of the use of it, Steve's adorable grin made her giggle. Recovering herself, she sat on a stool and said, "You shouldn't call it that. I think Steve-tastic would be better."_

_Steve's face went somber and Kayla worried she might have hurt his feelings, something that was easy to forget was possible. She stammered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"_

_"Why don't you call me Patch?" Steve asked. "Everyone else does."_

_"Everyone doesn't call you Patch. Hope doesn't."_

_"She does when she's mad at me."_

_Kayla's voice went quiet as she said, "Oh." Not being able to look at him, she simply said, "Well, I just won't." She really didn't want to get into it._

_"Kayla, why? You've been mad at me a lot."_

_Kayla couldn't help but smile at this, but as the omelets were ready Kayla jumped off the stool and began getting plates and silverware. Steve emptied the skillet and he and Kayla sat down at the kitchen counter._

_Kayla took a bite of the food and was pleased to find it was just as delicious as his lobster. Saying so, Kayla finally took the moment to look in Steve's eye. He obviously was still waiting on an answer. Deciding he deserved to know the truth, Kayla said, "Patch is a horrible nickname. To call you that because of your…handicap is just cruel. It implies that the way you look is who you are, and that is not true."_

_Steve's heart was racing. Since he lost his eye, Steve had actually introduced himself as Patch, he felt it fit his personality while others guessed on their own. Kayla's insistence that he wasn't about his patch made his mouth go dry and he started drinking the juice she had poured for him._

_Putting down the glass, he looked at Kayla, never feeling more serious in his life, "Thank you. Thank you for that." Damn, he was blinking back tears._

_Feeling like she could cry herself, Kayla decided to go with what she thought would be a safer topic, "So, where did you learn to cook like this?"_

_Steve nearly choked at the sudden question, and then he laughed. Kayla couldn't help but laugh with him, "What's so funny?"_

_"Nothing," he said, "you just make it sound like I took a cooking class in a community college."_

_"No, I wouldn't think that. You hardly learn to cook lobster at a community college." _

_"That's right, baby." Steve said, glad to be on a safer topic._

_Sighing, Kayla persisted, "Seriously, where did you learn?"_

_"It's not important."_

_"Why won't you tell me?"_

_Steve's shrug made Kayla a bit irritable. Why won't he just tell her? Eating faster, Kayla said, "Steve, I told you why I won't call you Patch, surely you can have enough courage to tell me where you learned…"_

_"I learned from a hooker." As Steve expected, that shut Kayla up. He knew it would. "It was years ago, but I lived under her roof for awhile. She loved to cook. One of the few things in life she liked." Steve managed to think back to that time. It was right after he left the orphanage when he was declared an emancipated minor and had been allowed to live on his own. _

_Glancing back at Kayla, he felt that life was worlds away. Feeling the return of old habits, Steve smirked, "Want to know what else she taught me, baby?"_

_That made Kayla mad, throwing her fork down, "Why do you do that?"_

_"Do what?" he asked._

_"Turn a nice conversation into something sleazy?"_

_"I think it's pretty rude for you to think just 'cause she was a hooker meant…"  
_

_Kayla stood up, and walked to the other side of the kitchen with her plate, "You know what I mean, Steve. Honestly, the way you hide behind this act…"_

_Now Steve was annoyed. Who was she to insist that he was hiding behind anything? "Listen, Kayla, just because you have patched me up a few times doesn't mean you know me. I can assure you…"  
_

_"I know you better than you think!" Kayla said, fighting the urge to throw a plate at his head._

_Steve laughed at that. Pushing his plate to her, he got up and hobbled towards her spiral staircase. He heard her ask where he was going. "If you know me so well, why don't you guess?"_

_"Steve!" she yelled._

_At the bottom of the stairs, Steve smiled and said, "I need a shower, baby. I thought I would just head up the stairs…"_

_"Without asking if you can use it?"_

_"Yup." Steve glared back at Kayla, not about to let that look she was giving him intimidate him._

_"Fine, take a shower, but use the other bathroom. It's in the guestroom, it's that way." Kayla demanded._

_Steve almost wanted to head up to Kayla's bathroom in spite of her demand, but he decided to just let it go. Limping towards the other room, he mumbled it would have been nice if she had offered up this bedroom instead of the couch. _

_Kayla glared as she stomped up to her own bedroom to change for the day. _

_Later, Kayla began cleaning up in the kitchen. She felt like the worst nurse in the world because she had forgotten all about Steve's leg until they had started to fight. Her ego wouldn't allow her to run to him when she saw him limping, but it couldn't stop her from worrying. She just hoped she hadn't made things worse._

_As she put things away, Kayla thought over her conversation with Steve. He could deny it all he wanted, but this was an act. She was certain of that. She was also certain he had been hurt badly all his life. That defense mechanism of pretending to be sleazy was strong and Kayla wasn't sure she could fight for much longer. How could he go from going out of his way to help her and her brother to acting like he had no concern for anyone else but himself? What pains in his life could have created such an enigma of a man?_

_"Sweetness."_

_Not hearing Steve approach, Kayla jumped up and saw he was back. His hair was wet, and he had put on his clothes but his shirt was still off. He must have forgotten to take it up the stairs with him. Looking back at the dishes, Kayla said nothing._

_"I didn't mean to scare you," Steve said. He had calmed down in the shower, and he was glad she probably couldn't hear him banging his head up against the shower wall. _

_"You didn't, you just startled me, that's all."_

_Steve came down the steps and grabbed his shirt off the couch. Knowing he better get out of there before anything else happened, Steve decided he should really thank Kayla. She deserved that. Clearing his throat, he said, "Kayla, I need to get going."_

_At that, Kayla stopped doing the dishes, "You're leaving?"_

_He nearly smiled; he was going to have leave sometime. Steeling himself to get this out, Steve looked at the shirt he was holding, "This is the second time you have taken care of me. You scraped me off the pier last time and last night…"_

_"Actually, I meant to ask about your leg this morning," she said, walking closer to Steve._

_Her walking closer distracted Steve and for a second he lost his train of thought. Gathering his thoughts, he tried to continue, "The leg is fine. I, um, I just wanted to thank you."_

_Kayla's legs kept bringing her closer to Steve. Not thinking about what she was doing, Kayla simply said, "I need to thank you, too."_

_"Me?"_

_"Yes, you!" she smiled at his surprise. "You were helping my brother out. To try to bring Victor down and got hurt. You are a good…" she paused at the right word, "friend."_

_Steve hoarsely repeated, "Friend."_

_Now that she was face to face with him, Kayla leaned up towards Steve's side, the side with the patch. Not knowing what she was doing, Steve jerked back but Kayla's hand held his arm which made him stop. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek just under the patch. That simple gesture emptied the air out of Steve's gut, and he forced his free hand behind his back to keep himself from touching her face._

_Kayla was going to step away at that, she meant to, but she was so close to Steve, as close as she was in the pantry. The memory of the pantry pushed her body to lean forward and before she knew it, Kayla's lips touched Steve's. _

_His lips opened for her and together their arms wrapped around each other's bodies. Steve was leaning up on the arm of the couch, which was enough for him to keep his weight off his bad leg. Not that he was thinking about that while kissing Kayla, it was as if his mind was absolutely blank. He groaned as he felt her hands rub around his bare torso. Feeling her fingers on his skin was driving Steve to madness._

_Kayla herself didn't know what had overcome her. She didn't care. Feeling Steve's chest and back, she had lost all control of her will power. Steve's kisses were making her dizzy and she pulled herself closer to him. With his shirt off, Kayla could feel the heat from his body and desired to remove her own clothing as well. Luckily, Steve started to help her with that._

_Steve started to unbutton her blouse and Kayla gasped as she felt his bare hand touch her stomach. Using her own hand, she unbuttoned the blouse more so Steve would have more room to touch her and she was rewarded with him doing just that. His hand worked its way around to her back and Kayla groaned as his mouth slid down the side of neck. _

_Hearing "GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!!!!" startled both Steve and Kayla but neither had time to react before Kayla was jerked back and she saw a fist hit Steve square in the jaw, sending him backwards onto the couch._

_Kayla still felt like a trance so it took her a second or two to recognize it was Bo who was yelling obscenities at Steve. Looking to her right, she saw Hope yell at Bo to stop, but by now Steve had his senses back and he greeted Bo in the same manner. _


	20. Chapter 20

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

"Bo, I hardly think we had to literally _run_ over here to Kayla's!" Hope said, getting in the elevator while Bo closed the doors and pushed the button.

Bo's silence spoke volumes on how he felt on the matter. Last night, she and Bo had managed to fight a little more but then make up a lot. She honestly expected him to be dead to the world this morning, but they only overslept a little bit before he was shaking her awake and telling her they needed to hurry and get ready. Bo wanted to check on Kayla.

"What's taking this thing so long?" Bo griped. He just knew Steve was still at Kayla's and the thought had driven him insane on the way over. Hearing Hope telling him to call down, Bo shook his head, "No, I will not calm down. You know Steve and you know Kayla. I know that bum is going to do all he can to trick Kayla into...well whatever."

"I think your sister can handle Steve fine," Hope said without thinking.

"What?" Bo asked.

Quickly, Hope cleared her throat, "Nothing. Just...nothing."

"No, what? When has Kayla ever really handled Steve?"

Taking advantage of the fact the elevator had stopped, Hope began pulling back the door, "Oh, look. Here we are. Coming?"

Bo glared at his wife now knowing she knew something he didn't. Walking the four steps to get to Kayla's door, Bo took out his key. When they told Kayla she could have their old place, Bo still had kept one of the extra keys. Realizing he was just going to walk in unannounced, Hope began admonishing him, "Bo! You aren't just going to walk in there without knocking!"

"Sure I am. Technically it's our place."

"That's bull and you know it, Brady! We are going to knock like civilized people."

"Steve isn't civilized," Bo shot back but then shrugged. "Fine, you want us to knock, we'll knock." Taking his hand, he knocked 3 times in rapid succession, waited 2 seconds then unlocked and opened the door. Hope was just about to yell at Bo again when the sight before them shocked even her speechless.

Right before them were Steve and Kayla in a passionate embrace. Hope had remembered Steve and Kayla literally falling out of the pantry and it had occurred to her their attraction for each other had gotten the better of them, but seeing it with her own eyes was another matter. She was embarrassed to be seeing such a private moment.

However, that embarrassment was nothing compared to what she felt when her husband marched over to the two, yelling at Steve and then punching him once they were separated.

Coming to her senses, Hope yelled, "Bo, Stop!" By now Bo was raving madly at Steve, and was heading towards the older man to hit him again. Steve was now fully aware of Bo's presence and met her husband with his own fist. Before Hope knew it, both men were in a full fledged fight, and Steve was proving that Bo's earlier boast that he could take Steve on without getting a scratch on him was a very false claim.

Kayla by now realized she had a pregnant lady screaming in her living room and two adult men, now acting like children, fighting all over her furniture. Wanting to stop the proceedings and realizing it was possible Hope could get hurt too, she ran over by the door, pulled the fire extinguisher off the shelf and sprayed it straight on Bo and Steve. Both men stopped in complete shock.

Bo was the first to ask, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I might as well ask you that," Kayla said livid. "How dare you come into my home, unannounced and start a fight!"

Both men got up off the floor while still glaring at each other. Bo pointed at Steve, "I don't know how he tricked you, but I'm not about to let my sister get involved..."

Kayla, still armed with her weapon, marched over to Bo with a look that he knew meant business. Pushing the extinguisher into his gut, she said, "You have no control over who I may or may not get involved with. To say it's none of your business is an understatement. Now again, what are you two doing here?"

"We were checking on you, Sis!" Bo said, clearly not understanding how he was the bad guy. "Look, I don't know how Steve got you into this position, but believe me, I know the guy..."

"You know nothing," Kayla interrupted, "for your information, I kissed him."

Bo had to keep himself from falling down at Kayla's revelation, "You kissed him!"

"Yes, I did," Kayla said, feeling herself blush as the realization that she was the one to initiate everything fully hitting her. Not wishing to deal with that now, she handed Bo the extinguisher and walked away, "You owe me another fire extinguisher."

That last remark of Kayla's, along with the look on Bo's face, made Steve and Hope crack up laughing. Once Kayla started in on Bo, Steve had wandered over to Hope and the two had watched with amusement at the sibling squabble.

"Why are you laughing, I'm mad at you two as well" Kayla said leaving Hope and Steve to question why. "Hope, how can you let Bo come barreling in here like that? And you two walked in without knocking."

Bo never one to learn to keep his mouth shut, shouted, "We knocked!" Kayla's glance over at him made him look down at his feet and sheepishly admit, "Sort of."

Kayla turned back to the other two, "And Steve, don't you dare get in a fight in my living room with my own brother!"

Steve couldn't believe she was yelling at him for that, "He started it!"

"I don't care. I will not have people beating themselves up in my home, especially two people I care about." The last phrase made everyone look at her and Kayla hoped she wasn't blushing as much as she felt like she was. Steve didn't have time to realize the implication of what Kayla said as Hope decided it was time to change the subject, "Well, believe it or not, there is another reason we came over here. Bo, do you want to tell them or should I?"

Bo, putting the fire extinguisher down, decided he couldn't deal with bringing his father down and trying to protect his sisterm pulled out the film Steve gave him last night. Bo explained, "Last night after we got home, Victor was up waiting for us. Now, I'm fairly certain he bought our night-on-the-town story, but the next step is to get this film developed and obviously I just can't walk into the nearest drug store and ask them to print this up."

"So develop them yourself, Beauregard?" Steve said snidely, knowing Bo knew what to do. 

"I will, Steve, but I need a private dark room to develop the pictures, so I was hoping," he paused as he looked at Kayla, "we could do it here."

Kayla, who still looked mad as hell, shrugged and said, "What are sisters for?"

"Good," Bo said, feeling awkward. Glaring at Steve, he added, "I guess you can go now."

Glaring back at Bo, Steve answered, "Just be glad my ankle still hurts and I can't come over there and kick your a--" he was interrupted by both Kayla and Hope yelling his name.

Hearing the phone ring, Kayla welcomed it, needing a break. Her face went white as she recognized the caller on the phone.

"Ye- Yes, he's here," Kayla said, then headed the phone to Bo. "It's for you, it's Victor."

Everyone looked at Bo but he was just as shocked as they were. Taking the receiver he answered the phone in the most nonchalant way he could.

"Bo," Victor said on the line, "I hope I'm not intruding, James said you and Hope had gone to visit Kayla this morning."

"Yes, we did," Bo replied.

"I hate to interrupt you visiting your sister, but I need your help."

"You do?"

"Yes, apparently, we have had some trouble with obvious trespassing in one of my warehouses. Now, I know nothing was stolen but I need to find out who was there. I was hoping to use your skills."

Bo's mouth went dry, he stalled, "Victor, I'm not sure I'm the right person. We are here with Kay and surely you have someone who can..."

"I know it's a lot to ask, Bo, but I need someone I can trust on this. It's a very...sensitive matter."

Knowing it would be incredibly suspicious to back down, Bo accepted, "Okay, I'll be over there." He then listened to Victor tell him which pier to meet him, something that Bo already knew but he played along.

Hanging up the phone, Bo faced his wife, sister and Steve. Telling them about the conversation he just had with the old man, both Hope and Kayla immediately began worrying and wondered how he could agree. Hope knew the situation could let Bo accidentally let on he knew who was behind the break-in while Kayla worried that they were on to Steve.

Amazingly, it was Steve who came to Bo's defense, "He had no choice." The room went silent at Steve's remark and he rolled his eye at their disbelief that he could provide an unbiased opinion. "Victor would absolutely suspect Bo if he didn't jump in to help plus it provides him with an opportunity to hide it was me."

It was agreed then. However, there was still the matter of developing the pictures, this is where Steve surprised them once more. "Give me the film, I'll do it."

Sighing at their look, he shrugged and said, "Bo knows I know how to develop pictures. We both learned together. It was while we were in the merchant marines."

Swallowing, Bo couldn't believe the turn fate had taken. Not just trusting Steve with his sister but with processing the evidence as well. Of course getting that evidence was all due to Steve anyway, Bo admitted to himself, so he reluctantly gave the film to his former friend.

"Thanks," Steve said taking it. "Now did you bring the supplies we need?"

Bo's eyes got wide realizing he hadn't bought anything yet. "Um, no. We hadn't gotten them yet."

"Why not? Why come all this way to use her bathroom as a darkroom if you didn't bring any...oh," Steve stopped realizing the reason, "had to come and make sure I was gone first right?"

Bo shrugged, "I just forgot...look, I have to go."

Everyone watched as Bo left through the door while Hope and Kayla turned towards Steve who was grinning from ear to ear, "Let's go shopping, shall we?"


	21. Chapter 21

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Hope asked Steve for what felt like the 15th time.

"Yes, Hope," Steve said tiredly, "I promise I know what I'm doing."

"Well, it's the second batch we have made from the negatives, the first were all so blurry," Hope said, trying to sound optimistic.

"I'm a bit rusty, it's not like I do this on a regular basis, Sweet Thing," Steve replied.

Kayla watched Steve as he worked on the pictures and talked to Hope. It wasn't bickering really, more like two friends speaking about a project that was due. Kayla was learning that when Steve started on any project, he threw himself wholeheartedly into it, such as the way he shopped for the supplies earlier that morning. Bo had forgotten to give them a list but luckily Steve knew what to get.

With all the rushing to get back to her loft, Kayla hadn't had time to reflect on what had happened the past 24 hours. If she wanted to be completely fair, the past week had been eventful enough. Her whole perception on so many things had changed, especially towards Steve. As she watched him work in her bathroom developing pictures with such intense concentration Kayla could hardly believe it was the same man who last week she saw stealing toilet paper from the restaurant he lived under. With the dim lighting, Kayla could barely make out his jaw line. Her eyes followed the patch strap through his hair and she fought back the urge to run her fingers through it.

"Kayla!" Steve said annoyed, "are you going to grab this or not?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Kayla realized Steve was asking her to help remove the pictures using the tongs. Hoping they couldn't see her blushing, she was just thankful she had kept her hand from shaking. Feeling Steve's breath on her neck, Kayla swallowed as he leaned in and whispered, "Easily distracted, Sweetness?"

More angry at herself for actually enjoying such attention from Steve, she asked, "Where did you learn to do this?"

Steve smiled at Kayla's uneven voice. He was so glad he could affect her as much as she did to him. It was only fair, after all. Answering her, he said, "There was a guy in the merchant marines who taught Bo and me."

"Really?" Hope asked, always curious to hear stories of her husband.

"Yea, this guy was into...taking pictures," Steve looked up at Hope and Kayla's faces which clearly were waiting to hear of what. He couldn't help but smirk and shrug to say, "Let's say they weren't the cleanest pictures."

Hope immediately got Steve's remark but Kayla started to ask how they could be dirty until she caught herself. Making eye contact with Steve, she realized he knew she had been slow to figure it out and her cheeks blushed again but this time she held his gaze. It was Hope that broke their concentration.

"These are much clearer."

All three glanced at the pictures and they immediately began remarking on who they could make out. A few faces were very clear and were definitely in the same shot as the drugs. Steve pointed to one in particular, "This guy, he works at the freight company. Victor puts a lot of trust in him and now we have him caught red-handed."

Kayla was confused, "But how does that help if we don't have any pictures of Victor?"

Hope helped clear it up, "This should be enough evidence to arrest at least this guy and maybe the police can persuade him to roll over on Victor or someone who can."

Steve nodded, "Maybe, though someone at the police will have to care enough to try."

Both Hope and Kayla got angry at Steve's flippant remark but he defended his position, "If the police weren't already in the old man's pocket, they could have brought the guy down a long time ago."

Hope knew there was no point to arguing with Steve on this issue, but Kayla took the statements more personally, "My brother is the captain of the police and I resent the implication he could be bought."

"No, Captain Brady would never do that," Steve said while saluting her.

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing, Sweetness. You Bradys are always on the right side and wouldn't even consider doing anything outside the rulebook."

"And that's a bad thing?" Kayla said annoyed. "A second ago you were accusing the cops of being dirty and now Roman being honest is a bad thing too?"

Hope was growing tired of this, knowing her husband was in the lion's den and they were wasting time arguing. "Can we skip this argument and talk about what we are going to do?"

Steve was cleaning up the supplies while he shrugged, "We? I'm done. Bo is welcome to march this over to the police when he gets back."

"You aren't going to go with him?" Kayla questioned, getting angry.

"Trust me, Sweetness, if I went with him, it would hurt his cause not help it."

"Why?"

"The police don't listen to guys like me, baby."

"Roman would, especially if Hope and Bo went too."

Hope had been actually thinking about this very thing. She had a new idea, "Actually, I think it would be best if Steve went on his own."

Both Steve and Kayla stopped to look at Hope, surprised. Steve snorted and said, "Like hell I will!"

"Now hear me out, Steve." Hope said. "Since we don't have direct evidence linking Victor to the drugs, it would be better if you went in as a third party and told them you wanted to get back at him for...firing you or whatever."

Kayla corrected Hope, "He wasn't fired, Steve quit."

Steve looked at Kayla whose familer blush had returned to her cheeks. Looking back at Hope, he said, "Again, police won't listen to me. All I have is some pictures linking Bluto here to drugs..."

"Which should be enough for an arrest for...Bluto," Hope said, smiling at the nickname. "The pictures can also verify that the drugs were in one of Victor's warehouses. If you tell them that Bluto could be flipped, they could get Victor."

Steve felt like a broken record, "And who is going to believe me, Hope? All this is me just saying that Victor is involved in this. Sure, we can say this guy," Steve paused to point at the picture, "was definitely there but it doesn't prove Victor was."

Kayla, trying to help, offered, "But the picture proves you were there! Surely with the pictures, your testimonies and later on Bo's help they can arrest Victor."

"Sweetness, once the realize I was there, who's to say they won't throw me in jail too? Bluto could actually switch the whole thing around and say I'm a part of the drug thing. I've worked for Victor in the past and though I technically didn't do anything illegal for the old man, at least recently, it can be assumed since I worked for him I was part of this too."

Kayla hated to hear about Steve working for Victor but she wasn't willing to give up. "If I go with you, I can get you in to see Roman. He would listen. I know he would."

Steve snorted, Roman had gone back to work with Marlena's condition not really improving. Steve was sure seeing him waltz through Roman's door would only further antagonize him.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Kayla," Hope said. She knew Bo wouldn't want Kayla to get anymore involved than she already was. "You going to the police station would put you on the record about it, and that might leak back to Victor."

Steve agreed, "Definitely, you are staying here, Sweetness."

"Don't you tell me what to do. And it sounds to me like I have no choice but to go, especially since you won't." Kayla went to grab her purse.

"You can't be serious," Steve said, and realizing that Kayla could get unwanted attention from Kiriakis, he tried to make a deal, "Okay, I'll go if you stay out of it."

Kayla hid a smile but knew there was no real way around that she still had to go, "I'm glad you are coming but I am involved now. And Roman probably is the only policeman who will listen to us with the evidence we have. Roman will listen if I'm there."

Steve was telling Kayla she was not going to the police station with him but the blond was ignoring him. Turning to Hope, Kayla said, "You probably need to get back to the mansion. You shouldn't be seen with us at the police station."

Hope wanted to laugh at how Kayla made it sound so simple but she knew she was ultimately right. Roman probably would kick Steve out of his office before hearing a word he said, Kayla would have to go with him. Trying to convince Steve of that she said, "Steve, Kayla's right. Just go with her and get this over with. And maybe Roman can leave Kayla's name off the record since she has no direct contact with the evidence."

Steve rolled his eye and gathered up the pictures. He was angry that he was being pushed into doing this but that Kayla was coming along as well. And he sure as hell didn't want to speak to Roman of all people. Before he could ask for a folder to put the pictures in, Kayla handed him one and he grimaced as he put the pictures away.

"How is your leg?" Kayla asked.

"Oh, it's just dandy," Steve replied sarcastically. "You know, I have a bad feeling that this leg is only the start of my problems over this."

As they were walking out the door, Kayla shook her head, "You really are a glass is half empty person aren't you?"


	22. Chapter 22

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Kayla sat outside Roman's office alongside Steve feeling very nervous. Suddenly her coming along didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. Roman was running late because he had gone to the hospital to visit Marlena but everyone expected him any minute. From what Kayla could tell from the uniforms walking around, Captain Brady was never in a good mood when coming back from the hospital. Her brother, greeting her with Steve as the first order of business, probably wasn't going to improve it any.

Still, Kayla thought, too much depended on what they were trying to accomplish. Bo was with Victor now and who knows how long before he realized his own son was trying to betray him. Kayla knew enough of Victor to know he demanded loyalty but a betrayal from someone this close would bring down his full wrath.

"Remember, Sweetness," Steve whispered, "we don't mention Bo at all. As far as these pictures are concerned, it was all me."

Kayla shook her head, that part she didn't like. Looking around the room for Roman, Kayla said, "I don't see why we can't say anything. Bo is Roman's brother too! He would want to know..."

Steve shook his head, "Listen to me, Kayla. I'm sure Roman would be thrilled to know his little brother isn't aligning himself with the silver devil but I worry about the other cops around here. All it would take is someone running their mouth to the wrong person. If that happens, Bo AND Hope could get hurt. Your brother chose this bed so what happens to him, he knew it was coming, but he dragged his innocent wife into this and she's the one I'm worried about."

"You really care for her, don't you?" Kayla asked, not sure what she was feeling.

Steve hesitated on his answer. He wanted to say something smart like he always cared for beautiful women, but that would probably make Kayla angry and the last thing he needed to do when trying to get on her brother's good side was come in with Kayla angry. It was probably better to just admit the truth.

"Hope is my friend. I would do anything for her."

Kayla looked down at her hands. She felt conflicted hearing Steve say that. She was glad to know he was opening up to her but there was a worry as to what made Hope special.

"Kayla, we are just friends," Steve said. Kayla's head lifted and looked him in the eye. Did he see relief on her face? Not being able to resist, he continued, "So there is no need for you to be jealous."

Defensive, Kayla shook her head, "I'm not jealous!" His smile only antagonized her more and she turned her face way from him crossing her arms. "You're impossible."

Steve laughed again and was about to say something else until they heard a voice clearing. It was Roman. Kayla's earlier annoyed look was nothing compared to the one now on Roman's face.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Roman!" Kayla said, and deciding to really lay it on thick, she gave him a big bear hug. Quickly, she asked, "How is Marlena?"

Roman knew his sister well enough to know there was something going on. Answering her, he tried to fight back the agony in his voice when he said, "Still no change."

"I'm sorry," Kayla said, with real sadness in her eyes. Roman glanced over at Steve who looked incredibly uncomfortable. Roman pulled his keys out and unlocked the office door. Roman walked in and watched as Kayla and Steve entered together.

Walking over to his desk, Roman had to hold back his anger. It was all he could do not to throw Johnson up against the wall for standing that close to his sister. Turning back around, he said, "What's going on?"

Steve shut the door and held out the folder of pictures for Roman to take. Trying to sound as matter of fact-like as possible, Steve told him how he had entered the Kiriakis warehouse and taken pictures of the drugs arriving. He also told him he had witnessed Victor himself enter, along with other gentleman from out of town.

Looking through the pictures, Roman stated the obvious, "Why didn't you get pictures of Victor?"

Steve sighed but knew it was a reasonable question and answered, "That's when I broke the camera."

Roman's eyebrow shot up, "You broke the camera?"

Roman's tone shook Steve's control of his attitude and he shrugged, "Yea, well those guys were so ugly the damn thing fell apart after so many pictures."

"You think this is funny?" Roman asked, annoyed.

Before things could get worse, Kayla decided to help and explained, "The camera was broken when Steve had to jump out of the way and he wound up hurting himself. You can see he's limping."

That's when Roman lost his cool and yelled, "You were there?"

"No," Kayla said, "but Steve came to my loft when he got hurt."

"He came to your loft when he was hurt? How does he know you well enough to make personal calls to where you live?" Roman got up and started walking towards Steve, wondering if he could put Johnson in handcuffs.

Steve started laughing; he knew bringing Kayla was a bad idea. Roman wasn't about to listen to anything he said if he thought he had something going on with his sister. Fed up, Steve started to walk towards the door to leave, "Look, I took the pictures and there is some evidence against one guy that we all know works for Victor. Use the pictures to try to flip him if you want. Use the pictures against the other guys that show up as well. Use the damn pictures and make postcards out of them for all I care, I'm done."

Kayla called after Steve but it was Roman who stopped him. Walking behind Steve and slamming the door shut, he said, "You aren't going anywhere, Johnson. Not until you answer some more questions."

Steve turned around, not liking to be told to do anything. He had started to push Roman away when Kayla walked over to him, placed her hands on his arm and asked him to please do what Roman said. Steve felt the fight leave him, he shrugged and sat down. Looking back up at Kayla's older brother, Steve asked, "What do you want to know, Captain Brady?"

Seeing that display of intimacy between his sister and this punk, Roman wondered if it was a good idea to keep a loaded gun near Johnson. He might wind up using it on him. Trying to stick to the matter at hand, Roman walked over to Steve and lowered his head so he was eye level with him. Roman sneered as he said, "Let's start with why are you playing the good citizen all of a sudden, Johnson? Last I checked you worked for Kiriakis."

Steve, not wasting a second, answered, "I quit that job."

"That job?"

"Both jobs." Hearing that, Roman leaned up and glanced at his sister who was giving Steve the oddest smile. Roman sat on the edge of his desk facing the two of them. He then asked, "How did you hear about this...shipment?"

Kayla looked up at Roman, absolutely surprised at the question. Luckily Steve was expecting it, and replied, "I quit the day before. I overheard the men making arrangements to be at the warehouse the next night."

"That a fact?" Roman asked.

"It 'tis, sir," Steve answered sarcastically but decided to make it sound legitimate. "They didn't know what it was for at the time. They aren't the brightest bulbs in a GE factory if you know what I mean, but I put it together and figured sneaking into the warehouse early would pay off."

Roman nodded, still obviously suspicious, "Uh-huh. And again, why would you do this? If true.."

Kayla interrupted him, "Oh, it's true."

Ignoring her, Roman continued, "If true, you are only going to bring Victor's anger down on you."

"I can take care of myself."

That made Roman laugh, "Yeah, you can barely manage to take pictures without falling off, what was it, boxes? Then you need my sister to patch you up. You still can't walk without limping."

Steve's angry retort was cut short by Kayla explaining how Steve was hurt do to the forklift incident. Roman hearing Kayla explain it made him glare hard at Steve, "You two really had a long hard talk about this."

Kayla still speaking for Steve, said, "It's the truth, Roman."

"You only know what he told you, Sis, so don't tell me it's the truth. You can probably count on one hand the number of times Johnson has told the truth."

Steve was holding onto the chair's arm to hang on to his control. Watching Roman yell at his sister about him was infuriating Steve more than he thought possible.

"Again, believe me if you want or don't. I think the pictures speak for themselves but if you are pig-headed enough to ignore evidence that can bring down a mob boss because you don't like me talking to your sister-"

"Shut up, Johnson!" Roman said, and then walked back to his desk to look at his pictures. Flipping through them again, Roman knew he was right, that this was definitely great evidence against one of Victor's hoods. If they could flip the guy, they could bring down the whole Kiriakis empire. Realizing what that would really mean, Roman turned back to Kayla. Looking at her, he said, "Have you talked to Bo?"

Steve kept himself from looking at Kayla, hoping she wouldn't give anything away. To her credit, Kayla decided to tell the truth as much as she possibly could, "Roman, Bo knows nothing about this."

Laughing at that, Roman said, "Have you talked to Bo?"

Not being able to look her brother in the eye and lie, Kayla turned away and said no. Taking this to mean she was in denial about Bo's potential involvement, Roman nodded. "You realize that by taking Victor down, we take Bo down too? Are you ready for that?"

Steve, who just a couple of days earlier would have agreed with Roman on Bo's loyalties, shook his head and said, "I'm sure Bo has nothing to do with this."

"Just because Bo wasn't at the warehouse doesn't mean he didn't know about this!" Roman answered. From Roman's perspective, Bo left the family and joined with the most notorious guy in Salem for money so he thought his brother capable of anything. Saying so, Kayla argued with Roman to try to have more faith in his family, but Roman wouldn't hear of it.

Steve knew this conversation was none of his business and, if anything, was helping take the stress off him in regards to showing up with Kayla, but for some reason, Steve's mind turned to Billy and he had to say something, "I would think, Roman, that you would have more faith in your brother than that. Bradys stick together, don't they?"

Probably more due to the stress of his wife being comatose, Roman answered back harshly, "Bo isn't a Brady."

Kayla gasped at that comment but Steve laughed, "Wow, you sure can turn it off can't ya? I mean, if my brother was involved over his head..."

"Don't pretend you know anything about brothers, Johnson. A guy like you runs away from families as fast as possible."

At that Steve did leap up and ignoring the pain, he said, "You know nothing about me, Roman. Now...do I need to sign something to go on record here or can I go?"

Roman thought of it, and then decided to have Steve fill out the needed paperwork. He told Steve to go see a desk sergeant out in the hall. Kayla went to follow Steve, but Roman stopped her, "Wait a minute, Sis, I want to talk to you."

Kayla turned around and glared at her brother knowing this talk wasn't going to have anything to do with Bo.


	23. Chapter 23

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Kayla shut the door and faced her brother head on. She wasn't scared of whatever he would say. She was a grown woman and she wasn't about to listen to Roman talk about a man he hardly knew.

"Kayla, what the HELL are you doing with Johnson?" Roman demanded.

"Well, you are getting straight to the point, aren't you?" she answered sarcastically.

This scared Roman more, as she was picking up Johnson's habits! Not backing down, Roman said, "I want to know, Kayla. What is it with you and him?"

She shrugged, "We're just friends."

He laughed at that, "I doubt that, Sis!" Kayla, annoyed, asked him why.

"Because I see the way he looks at you and friendship is not on his mind." Off her blush, Roman continued, "What worries me more is the way you look back at him."

"How do I look at him?"

Roman fought back the urge to mention words like lust and affection, he wasn't about to say it in connection with Steve Johnson. Choosing a safe parallel, he shrugged, "Like how you looked at the strays you brought home all the time."

Kayla marched up to Roman, angry at the comparison, "That's a terrible thing to say! Almost as terrible as what you just said about Bo!"

"Don't change the subject, Kayla. Steve Johnson is trouble, believe me I know this kind of guy. He literally chews girls like you up for breakfast."

"That's not the Steve I have seen. Yes, he has done some bad things and acted like a jerk, but he saved Bo's life, went on a limb with this Victor thing, helped out..." she almost said Hope but managed to catch herself, "others."

Roman sighed, he should have known talking to his sister would only make her stick up for Johnson more. He knew the only way she would learn was when Steve finally hurt her; he just didn't know how far Steve would take it. Sighing, he said, "Listen Sis, Steve isn't like a stray cat."

Smiling to herself, Kayla answered, "No, he's more like a tomcat."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What I mean is, just giving Steve kindness and attention won't domesticate him."

Kayla hated the way they were talking about him, "I don't want to domesticate him."

"What do you want to do?"

Memory of that morning flashed in Kayla's mind, but decided she needed to quit while she was ahead, so instead she said, "Nothing! I just want to be his friend." With that she shut the door behind her.

Looking around for Steve, she saw he was no longer at the sergeant's desk. Asking him where Steve went, he shrugged and said that Steve did what he needed to do and was gone. Kayla walked away while the uniform got up to enter Roman's office with the reports he just typed up.

----------------------------

Steve had gone straight home after signing the paperwork. He was careful to leave Kayla's name out of it, he had a bad feeling there was a leak in the department and he didn't want Victor sending anyone after Kayla.

Settling in, Steve thought of Roman's remarks about brothers. Taking his red shoebox out of the closet, Steve sat down at his table and opened it up. Pulling out the toy train first, Steve reached for the few pictures he had of his family. Most of them were of him and Billy, but he had one of his mother. Glancing at it briefly, Steve always marveled at her beauty but the resentment inside forced him to return her picture back.

He took out his favorite picture of Billy. It was their last Christmas before they went to the orphanage. Steve always thought it both a curse and blessing he could recall the memories of Billy so well. He never wanted to forget his brother but the pain of Billy being taken from him always followed. Steve allowed the tears to come as he remembered the day when Billy was adopted. The new parents wanted a new baby but not a five year old. Especially one that came with the extra special ability of having tried killing his father by burning him in his own bed.

Hearing a knock at his door, Steve didn't have time to ask who it was before he heard Kayla's voice calling out. Steve told her to go away. He just wasn't up to seeing her now. Since he didn't lock the door, he wasn't surprised Kayla did the exact opposite and came in.

"Steve, why did you leave so fast?" Kayla asked, coming down the stairs.

Steve realizing he didn't want her to see the pictures, jumped up and used his body to block her view of the table. He didn't hesitate to bring up Roman's obvious conversation, sneering, "So, Ro-MAN know you are here seeing the big bad wolf?"

"Stop it, Steve!" Kayla said, "Our talk wasn't like that."

Steve laughed, "Right, I'm sure he had nothing to say about how close you and I have gotten!"

Kayla saw her opening, and went for it, "Have we gotten close?"

Not prepared for that question, he snidely shrugged, "Not as close as I would like, Baby."

Realizing she walked right into that one, Kayla began to move around Steve. He tried to pull her away but his leg hurt too badly and she saw the box and pictures. She asked him, "What is that?"

"Nothing, look, I think it's time you should leave now."

She pulled her arm back from him and walked to the table anyway, and Steve feeling so very tired, watched her. She picked up some of the pictures and looked at him. Picking up the train, Kayla remembered his making train sounds on his harmonica and realized these were things from his childhood.

"Steve, you mentioned a brother in Roman's office."

"I was talking rhetorically."

"No, I don't think so," she said, looking at his Christmas picture with Billy. Steve walked over and snatched it out of her hand and grabbed the box.

"Do you mind, Sweetness? Kissing me doesn't give you full reign to come in here and start going through my things."

Kayla knew what Steve said was true, but there was no stopping now. He was so young in those pictures. What happened to his brother? She had to know. "Steve, tell me, please."

"No, now get out."

Instead, Kayla sat down looking at Steve sadly. If Steve wanted her out, he was going to have to push her out. She now could see he had been crying, and it was all she could do from putting her hand to his cheek.

"Steve, you can tell me."

"No, I can't!" He yelled, feeling the tears coming. Fighting them back, he walked over to Kayla and pulled her up. Her look didn't waver but Steve's drive to push her up the stairs did, especially now that he was holding her. He simply asked, "Why do you want to know?"

Kayla reached up with her hand, her fingers touching his patch and her palm cupping his cheek. She hadn't even realized she had done it until she felt his skin on hers. Whenever she was around Steve, she felt like something else was controlling her body.

Her mouth felt dry as she said, "I just do."

Steve felt her hand and caressed the arm that was touching him. He actually wanted to tell her. He had never wanted to tell anyone anything about his childhood before but one look into Kayla's blue eyes and he could feel his resolve weaken. Instead of telling her though, he did the other thing he wanted to do; he kissed her.

Bending down his lips met hers and she opened her mouth for him. Steve's hand moved from her arm to her cheek as he lowered his other hand other side. Kayla's arms wrapped around Steve's neck while her hands went into his hair. Steve gently pushed her up so she was leaning on the table. Moving his mouth down her side, he left a trail of kisses down her throat, pausing at the base of neck.

Kayla moaned at the sensations. Saying his name, she moved one of her hands down his shoulder towards his back. Dizziness overcame her and she leaned into Steve 's arms. Steve couldn't stop tasting Kayla and for a brief moment he realized she was as sweet as his nickname for her.

Knowing the table was never going to support both of them, Steve gently pulled Kayla up. Her cry of protest made him smile and he looked her intently in the eyes before he said, "Patience, Sweetness."

Hearing his husky voice, Kayla followed Steve as he guided her to the bed. She didn't allow her mind to think; she looked his body up and down wanting to slip her hands underneath his clothes. Seeing the bulge he had, Kayla took the lead as her hands reached for his jeans. Steve was surprised at her aggressiveness but turned on nonetheless.

Kissing her once more, he chuckled, "Do I need to teach you the meaning of patience?"

He kissed her again as he guided her to the edge of the bed. Now he could lean her back so he would have better access below her neck. Unbuttoning her blouse, Steve took a moment to admire her chest which was rising up and down in anticipation. Kayla's hand reached up to Steve's cheek and she pulled him down to kiss her again. She had never wanted anything more in her life than Steve and her body couldn't bare him not touching her for more than a few moments.

Kayla's hands reached under his shirt and began working their way up his back. Steve moved on top of her allowing them access. Lowering himself his hands roamed her body while he continued to kiss her. Their moans were the only thing their ears could hear.

That's why it didn't occur for Steve to look up when his door slammed.

Steve managed to stop kissing Kayla in time to realize they were no longer alone but by then both men grabbed Steve and threw him to the floor, placing a bag over his head. Kayla screamed and she lunged for one of the men who just pushed her down. Hitting Steve over the head, one man then began to tie him up. The other guy grabbed Kayla and asked the other what he was supposed to do with her.

Kayla tried to fight back as she heard him answer, "Well, I guess we have to bring her along too."

Taking a pillowcase, they put it over Kayla's head tied her up. Seeing that Steve was still moving, they hit him over the head again. Dragging them both up and then down the stairs, Kayla could feel herself being thrown in a van and driven away.


	24. Chapter 24

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Bo had never been so relieved to walk into the freight company before. He had spent hours with Victor at the warehouse, trying to act like he was investigating the scene. Luckily, there was no real evidence that Steve had been there except for pieces of a camera found on the floor. Bo was glad there weren't enough pieces to show what kind of camera, otherwise Victor might realize he owned the exact model. Once it became clear there had been a camera at the scene, Victor's usually unflappable demeanor became driven to find out who was there.

Heading to his office, Bo sat down and put his head in his hands. This change of events had really turned him for a loop; he never thought Victor would trust him enough to look into the break-in at the warehouse. He needed to pick up the phone and ask Hope how things went but before he reached for the receiver, he saw one of Victor's henchmen hanging around the fax machine. Bo knew him to be Paul but he preferred Steve's nickname of Bluto for him. He was the same idiot who tried to have him run over with the forklift a few weeks ago. If he was hanging around the fax machine, that meant he was ordered to do it by Victor. Bo had never understood their need for one as fax machines were expensive and a freight company hardly received orders for shipments via such a high tech device. It seemed every time it was ever "used" Bo was conveniently not around to witness it.

Watching Paul, Bo heard the telltale sounds of the fax receiving a call. Watching the larger man receive the message, Bo noted the look on Paul's face change to worry. Quickly, he checked his watch and ran out the door. Since Bo's office overlooked the parking lot, Bo headed over to the window to make sure Paul left. He was glad he did, as Paul grabbed two other guys on Victor's payroll and obviously gave them some orders. While Paul jumped in his car, Bo noticed the other two men jump in a van and leave.

Desperate to find out what was in that fax, Bo walked back to the machine to look at it. Checking around to make sure he was alone, Bo popped open the back of the machine and looked inside. He smiled when he saw what he had hoped to see. The fax machine used a carbon roll. Grabbing some paper towels so not to make a mess, Bo took out the carbon roll very carefully.

Taking it into his office so he could have some privacy, Bo worked his way until he saw the last fax that came in. Though the fax was written backwards, Bo could easily see that it was a police report. Someone from the police station was feeding information to Victor! It wasn't easy to read but Bo could see Steve's name and realized he had brought the evidence from the warehouse to the police after all. Reading more, it seemed only Paul aka Bluto was named in the pictures.

"No wonder you freaked out," Bo said smiling to himself. However, the smile faded once he realized that obviously Paul now knew Steve was involved. Taking the fax roll with him, Bo headed to his car and jumped in it, leaving a trail of rubber out of the parking lot. His concern making him forget he had not replaced the carbon in the fax machine.

-------------------------------

Bo made it to Steve's place faster than he thought possible. Heading up the stairs, he saw the door was open so Bo went right in. The evidence of the previous struggle angered Bo as he headed down the stairs. Knowing he only just missed them enraged Bo and he kicked one of Steve's overturned chairs. That's when he saw the purse, Kayla's purse.

Picking it up, panic hit Bo at the thought that his sister was also kidnapped. Before he had real time to plan what he should do, he heard his name called from behind. Turning around he saw Roman with his gun drawn and looking shocked to find him there.

"What are you doing here?" Roman asked, holstering his weapon and heading down the steps. "What went on here, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS?"

Bo was still so worried about Kayla that he didn't fight back when Roman grabbed him and shook him for answers. Seeing Kayla's purse, Roman put two and two together and became more forceful, "Tell me what you know!"

Pushing Roman off of him and in near tears, Bo told his brother about how it was him that put Steve up to taking the pictures. That he took Steve to Kayla's loft after he hurt his leg and now it was his fault his friend and sister were in danger.

For once, Roman felt all his pent up rage and hostility towards his little brother leave as he saw real agony in Bo's eyes. With a calm voice, Roman said, "It's okay. Right now we need to keep calm. Freaking out won't help sis out. Tell me what you know about this guy, Paul."

Bo looked at Roman and remembered what led him to warn Steve in the first place. After hearing about the fax coming in from the station, Roman nodded his head. Roman explained, "After Kayla had left, I guess now to follow Steve, I immediately began working on the evidence. We issued an arrest warrant for Paul. That's where the leak was from, a stupid jerk working in that department. Once he saw Paul's name, he made a phone call and then sent the fax over. If I hadn't been personally overseeing this case I probably would never have caught him. I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before, it's a perfect place for a leak...so they can alert Victor to who in his gang will be going down at exactly the right moment!"

Bo nodded his head, not wanting to respond. Still holding Kayla's purse, he began rubbing his eyes. Realizing he could care less about his cover, he looked at Roman, "What can we do to find them?"

"I figured they would have already grabbed Steve before I got here. Them taking Kayla complicates matters. We know he had an accomplice, that Paul guy is big but he couldn't have snatched them both alone."

Bo grinned when he realized they did have a lead, "Wait! I can't believe I didn't think of this. I watched Paul before he split; he grabbed two of our men and told them something. They left in a van. I bet it was them that picked up Steve and Kayla."

Bo went to the phone and called the office. Trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, he told their receptionist he needed to find out which guys were missing from work that day. Not caring if she wondered why, he got their names and grinned.

Hanging up the phone he gave their names to Roman who was thrilled at the new lead. Hoping he was right, Roman said, "With any luck, Paul probably didn't think everything through and these two guys didn't cover their tracks. I'm going to call and get an APB on this van. I'm sure it belongs to one of them."

Bo watched as his older brother made a phone call to the station. It had been a long time for him to be working with Roman again. He was surprised how good it felt. However, this only made him miss Kayla more, she would be the one to point out that Roman and he never stopped being brothers.

Roman hung up the phone and told Bo to come with him. Heading up the stairs, Bo asked where they were going.

Roman said, "They are already running background checks on these two guys now. Maybe by the time we return, they will something for us."

Shutting Steve's door, Bo could only hope so.


	25. Chapter 25

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Kayla was relieved to see Steve was finally regaining consciousness. After the van had reached its destination, Kayla and Steve had been thrown into a garage. The kidnappers, who wore masks, did remove the pillowcases but left their arms and legs tied. The men were actually arguing in front of Kayla about her presence. Obviously what they had planned for Steve was not something they were willing to do to a woman. Glaring at them, she told them they will never get away with what they are doing. They ignored her and Kayla waited for Steve to come to.

Now that Steve was waking up, Kayla had to scoot nearer to him. Pushing her back to the wall so she could sit up, she called to Steve so he would turn her way. Kayla being the first thing he saw made Steve smile until he tried to move and he remembered what had happened. Getting angry, Steve started jerking his arms to see if he could loosen the ropes.

Knowing it was futile, Kayla said, "Steve, don't waste your energy."

Sighing, he mimicked Kayla and used the wall behind him to sit up. Now they were sitting side by side and Steve glanced at her to make sure she was alright. He then began looking around at their surroundings. Feeling like an obvious question, Steve went ahead and asked, "Any idea where we are? It looks just like a garage."

"I think so. We drove for a while but I don't know where to."

"Did they touch you? Are you hurt? I swear to God, if they laid a hand on you..." Steve said, fully realizing the danger Kayla was in.

"I'm fine," Kayla said smiling. Steve's concern for her touched her but she was more worried about him, "How is your head? They hit you pretty good."

"It's okay, baby. If I lean over maybe you could kiss it."

"Do you ever stop?" Kayla said, not really upset to see Steve acting like this. It meant his injuries probably weren't serious.

"Not when I'm around you," he grinned back. The smile fading, Steve looked around wondering what he could do to stop whatever it is they had planned for them. The garage was fairly empty. There was a garden rake in the corner along with a bucket and mop nearby them. On the other side were folding chairs hanging up and more rope. Steve saw no tools sitting around which made him glad that meant they couldn't be used on Steve or Kayla but he didn't like their chances without them.

Knowing Steve was losing hope, she tried to give him some by saying, "Don't worry, Steve. Someone will notice we are missing. Once Roman finds out, he'll send the entire Salem PD to come looking for us!"

Steve chuckled at Kayla, "You mean when they notice you're missing. How long will that take? There is no sign of a struggle at your apartment."

"That's not true!" she started to argue. "More people care about you Steve than you think."

"Whatever you say, baby," he answered, rolling his eye.

That upset Kayla. "You know, this whole 'I'm a loner' attitude would be why, Steve. You can't go through life pushing people away and then get bitter when it works."

"I'm happy with my life, Kayla, it's people like you who insist I'm not."

Kayla glared at him, "If that's so accurate, why were you looking at pictures of your family?"

This shut him up and he bit back an angry retort. He had forgotten all about those pictures of Billy that Kayla had seen. Regret seeped in when Steve realized he almost told her about it, and if he had maybe he would have been in a better position to defend them against the two goons who broke in. Instead, he let his desire for Kayla get in the way. 

"You Bradys always have all the answers, don't you?" Steve said angrily. "Some people just aren't cut out for families."

Kayla didn't want to believe that but she knew it to be true. However she refused to believe it applied to Steve. Why would he have kept those pictures? Why would he keep looking at them?

"Maybe circumstances will push a person to run away from families and..." she paused, "...love, but that doesn't prove they shouldn't be a part of one."

Lying on the floor of a garage with his hands and feet tied up, Steve was forced to listen to Kayla. If they had been anywhere else, he would have found a reason to bolt. Walking away from Kayla wasn't an option so now he was stuck there just listening. Still trying to fight what he was feeling inside, he laughed unconvincingly, "Are you actually suggesting I could be that kind of guy? A family man? Look at us, Kayla. We are tied up in a garage! This is what happens to guys like me."

Kayla couldn't believe this was his argument. "We are only here because you were doing the right thing. You were helping out a friend, Bo. You have helped Hope. Whether you like it or not, you were helping out my family."

"I wasn't doing this for Bo! I did it for you!" he said before he could stop himself. He turned his face away from her. Kayla leaned in towards him and whispered, "I know you did."

He turned back to her and she kissed him softly. He couldn't believe that in such a dire situation he could be so easily turned on by her. Clearing his throat, he said, "Now who has the one track mind?"

In spite of it all, Kayla laughed. How he could do that, she would never know. Blushing, she laid her head on his shoulder, "I guess we can talk about this later." A pain in her heart appeared because she knew the possibility that there wouldn't be a later.

Steve had been in a lot of dangerous situations before. He hadn't cared about his own life but now with Kayla sitting next to him, he swore he was going to do all he could to keep her safe. They sat for several minutes in a comfortable silence. The sound of the door opening and the men appearing told Steve he would be given the opportunity to keep her protect her. 


	26. Chapter 26

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

The two guys that had kidnapped Steve and Kayla walked into the garage and took one of the folding chairs down off the wall. Placing it in the middle of the room, they then took down some more rope.

Walking towards the two of them, Steve felt horror well up inside of him when the first man lunged for Kayla. Though his arms and legs were tied, Steve used all the strength he had to push himself between Kayla and the thug. Even through the ski mask, Steve could see the guy's sneer as he pushed him away. While Steve yelled at the man to leave her alone, the other guy walked over to Steve.

"Relax, Romeo, we just want her out of the way so we can beat you even harder."

Steve glared as the two men picked Steve up and deposited him the chair. Using the extra rope, they fastened him in. Kayla pleaded to the two men to leave him alone but to no avail.

The heftier one, who obviously was in charge, turned to Kayla and said, "Listen, keep your mouth shut! I do not want to go hitting on a woman especially when you were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Our business is with Patch here. But if you give us trouble…"

"She won't give you trouble," Steve interrupted trying to draw attention back to himself. He could see the look in Kayla's eyes that meant she was going to do everything she could to help him and so Steve's only hope to protect her was to keep them mad at him. "Unless it makes you feel good knocking a girl around. I bet that makes you feel like a real tough guy."

It worked; the man turned and smacked Steve across the face. Steve could hear Kayla yell at them to stop so he kept talking, "Is that all you have, man? Victor must be scraping bottom if he uses the likes of you two to get information out."

"We're just getting started, Patch," the other guy said and hit Steve on the other side of the face as well. "You can insult us all you want but we just want one thing from you."

"Sorry, you aren't my type," Steve sneered. That sent the smaller guy right into his face, "Stop playing stupid! We want to know what you told the police."

Steve grinned, opened his mouth like he was going to say something, and then spit right in the man's eyes. He was rewarded with getting a punch to his side which was hard enough to tip him and the chair completely over.

While the shorter man was cleaning his face off, it was now the larger one's turn. Walking over to Steve, he leaned in, "Bad move, man. Now it's my turn. I hit harder."

Nearly laughing, Steve said, "You almost have to, wouldn't you?"

The little man, Steve began to think of as Stubs, cursed and ran back towards him but the bigger guy held him back. "Relax," he said and told Stubs to sit down.

Turning back to him, the man glared, "Stop being all tough for the lady here. We just want to know what you told the police exactly."

"Don't you already know, Brainiac? Who sent you? Victor? Paul?"

At hearing Paul's name, Brainiac kicked Steve straight in the gut. Being unable to recover from that easily, Steve remained silent. Brainiac said, "Paul. What did you tell the police about Paul?"

"Go to hell," Steve said weakly.

Not being able to stand it anymore, Kayla began to tell them, "That he was at the warehouse the other night."

The two men turned from Steve and looked at Kayla. Steve pleaded, "Kayla, don't!"

"Steve, this isn't worth your life. Just stop hurting him. If you let us go I'll tell you…"

Brainiac got right in Kayla's face which frightened her enough to force her to shiver. Leering, he said, "No, you are going to tell us now!"

Taking a deep breath, Kayla made a decision, "I'll tell you, if you just let Steve go. Just let him go…"

"Kayla!" Steve said, horrified at the thought.

Stubs walked over to Steve and pulled out of his back pocket a knife. Placing the blade on Steve's cheek he looked over at Kayla and Brainiac, who said, "If you tell me, my buddy won't take out Patch's other eye."

Defeated, Kayla knew she had no choice, "Okay, Steve told them that Paul was at the warehouse with the…shipment."

Brainiac stood up straight and repeated, "Shipment?"

"The drugs," Kayla said, with tears in her eyes. She hated herself for giving in, but she couldn't let them tear Steve up right in front of her. "It was a shipment of drugs."

"How do you know that?" Stubs asked.

Taking over where Kayla left off, Steve picked up with the story, "Because I got pictures. And she saw the ones with Paul in them."

The two men walked over to Steve and asked him who else was in the pictures. Steve shrugged, "My memory isn't that good."

Annoyed, Stubs walked over to Kayla with his knife forcing Steve to admit, "Okay, okay, it was Paul and a few other guys that work with him. That's it."

"That's all you got?" Brainiac said.

"That's all they need on Paul," Steve said. The two men looked at each other and were convinced that was all Steve and Kayla knew. Taking the knife, Stubs cut the ropes that tied Steve to the chair but made sure to kick him one more time. Then the two men walked out of the garage together.

Steve wondered what was going to happen now. There was no reason to keep them alive any longer. Glancing up, Kayla had already managed to scoot across the floor to see how he was. She was struggling with her own ropes, frustrated she couldn't touch him to see if he was alright.

"Now it's you who is wasting your energy, baby," Steve said sadly. Kayla bent down and touched her forehead to his, a small gesture but one that surprisingly strengthened him.

"I know you're upset with me telling them, but I couldn't watch them…"

"Ssssh, Sweetness," Steve whispered, "it's okay. Believe me, if it was you they were going to attack, I would have done the same thing. I understand." Steve reached up and kissed her softly.

For a moment, Steve and Kayla looked into each other's eyes. Steve kissed her again this time more tenderly. Kayla smiled, prompting Steve to say, "There's your smile. I'm glad I got to see it again."

"Steve," Kayla said, "if we don't get out of this…"

Steve shook his head. He didn't want to hear her giving up. Kissing her softly again, he said, "Now don't say that. We will. Miracles happen everyday."

They stared at each other for a beat while praying for a miracle.


	27. Chapter 27

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Waiting on their ultimate fate was bad enough, but Steve hated to see Kayla's face despair. Glancing at the door, Steve wondered how much time they had before the goons returned. Trying to pass the time, Steve said, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

Kayla couldn't help but look at Steve confused. His tone sounded like they were sitting down at a table at Blondies, rather than lying on a cold concrete floor in a garage with their lives in danger. Kayla sighed, "You don't have to do this."

"Do what?"

"Try to keep my mind occupied. I'm fine."

Steve's heart ached hearing Kayla sound strong, though there were still tears in her eyes. A woman like her was the last person who deserved to end up like this but Steve wouldn't blame her if she were to lose it and break down. Instead, she was lying there, keeping herself together and showing she was far stronger than he ever thought possible. Remembering that first night he saw her, spying on her from her own closet, Steve felt shame not just at his stalking but his whole perception that Kayla was simply a middle-class nurse. He thought she was a woman who was self-righteous enough to want to change the world but only up to a point. Steve thought how a woman like her was worth a dozen Brittas. What would have his life been like if he had met Kayla years ago?

Deciding not to give up, Steve continued, "Sweetness, maybe I want to keep my mind occupied for awhile."

Kayla didn't blink when she said, "I'm waiting for you to say with your hands tied up, all there is left is for us to talk."

In spite of the situation, Steve laughed, thinking she could give back as good as she got. Nodding his head, Steve said, "Maybe, but come on. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, I'll talk about anything you want."

"Anything?"

Steve grinned, "Anything, Sweetness."

Adjusting herself so she could see Steve's face fully, Kayla decided with their limited time she would be very direct. Looking him right in the eye, she asked, "What happened to your family?"

Steve's smile fell, and Kayla was worried he would push back his defenses. Realizing there wasn't any reason to hide anymore, Steve began, "My mom gave us up for adoption."

Off Kayla's concerned look, Steve rolled to his back and stared up at the ceiling. Recalling the events of his past, Steve decided to just go with the whole story. Before long, he was living the life again.

_He could remember his Dad beating his mom. How sometimes he would beat her so hard, Steve thought she was dead. Steve would get smacked a lot too, but usually his mom would jump in the way to protect them. He knew that was what she was doing. Even at five years old, he knew a human shield when he saw one._

_  
So he decided to stop it. Try to stop his dad from hurting his family. After his Dad beat his mom unconscious, he had passed out on their bed. Steve walked into the bedroom and found some matches. He set the bed on fire. Dad had spilled some alcohol on the bed earlier so it went up much faster than anyone would think. The scream that came from his father woke up his mom, who for some reason put the fire out and called an ambulance. His Dad was rushed to the hospital but was screaming when he got back that he would murder Steve._

_Shortly thereafter Jo had put him and his little brother up for adoption. Scared to be given away, Steve promised his mom he would never do it again. He would be a good boy, just don't give him away. She was in tears too but she said it was for his own good. Billy was just a baby, about a year old. Steve didn't understand why he was punished as well. Steve promised Billy he would look after him. He thought his mom would come back for them eventually, but it wasn't long before he gave up that dream._

_After few months at the orphanage, a couple wanted to adopt Billy. Steve saw the parents and begged them to take him too. Billy was all that he had left. He was the only person in this world who loved him. Steve had been with Billy for every feeding, every bath, and even bedtime. These people were strangers and Billy was crying when they took him. Steve desperate to be with Billy had told the couple that they would need him to keep Billy happy. Billy couldn't be happy without him._

_The child services person tried to calm Steve down and ease his fears that Billy would be so much better off with this couple. That he would soon forget Steve and think of these people as his family. Steve cried harder than he had when his mom had given him up. The truth was Steve needed Billy more than Billy needed him. No one understood that._

Steve jarred himself out of his reverie. He couldn't believe how everything had come out so easily. Blinking his eye, he turned his gaze from the ceiling back to Kayla. His mouth fell open when he saw the tears running down her face. He had meant to keep her mind off them dying!

"Oh, Kayla, it's okay. Don't cry. I won't...I won't let them hurt you. You will see your family again."

Kayla shook her head not being able to form words yet about the sorrow she was feeling. As a child, this man had experienced more suffering than what others receive in an entire lifetime. Seeing the concern he had for her now led her to lean forward and kiss his cheek.

"Steve, I'm crying for you. I wish I had known. I wish..."

Steve was taken aback she would cry for him. This was all years ago. And here they were simply waiting for the men to come back to do God knew what, but she was going to cry for his childhood. He tried to say something to her; he wanted to tell her not to shed another tear for him. He wasn't worth that but he couldn't get the words out.

"Kayla...I'm not" was all he could say. Guessing what he was thinking, Kayla said, "Don't you dare say it, Steve. You are worth it. You are worth it to me."

Despite the pain, Steve leaned in and kissed Kayla softly. He felt the moisture on his cheek and was surprised it came from his own tears and not hers. If only they could get out there.

As if right on cue, the door opened and in walked Stubbs and Brainiac. Steve and Kayla rolled a part some and Stubbs said, "Time to go for a ride!"


	28. Chapter 28

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

Steve and Kayla knew protesting was useless as Stubbs and Brainiac picked them up. Noting they weren't going to be blindfolded this time, Steve asked, "Where are you taking us?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Dragging them to the garage door, Stubbs let go of Kayla to open it up. Blocking their view to the street was the van, the rear facing Steve and Kayla. Stubbs opened the van doors and he grabbed Kayla and shoved her in. The physical force of his shove prompted Kayla to cry out.

This triggered Steve's anger and he began fighting with Brainiac who was surprised that, even with his arms and legs tied up, he couldn't handle an enraged Steve. Calling for Stubbs to help him, the smaller man tried to grab Steve's legs. Using Brainiac's hold on him as leverage, Steve was able to push his legs up and kick Stubbs right in the face, forcing him outside into the driveway.

Angry, Stubbs ran back inside, yelling as he did so, and threw a punch in Steve's gut. Because their attention was with Steve, Kayla was able to work her way to the front of the van's cab. Her ropes had loosened a bit and she was able to get her arm slightly free. Using her elbow, she began honking the van's horn. Maybe someone passing by could hear it and stop.

Cursing when they heard the noise, Brainiac yelled at Stubbs to stop Kayla. Instead of going through the rear of the van, he ran around to the side and up through the driver's door pushing her away from the steering wheel. Remembering Steve's earlier move, she used the passenger seat to hold her weight as she kicked Stubbs as hard as she could in the face. Stubbs fell down to the pavement.

Angry that the smaller man couldn't handle a simple woman, Brainiac dropped Steve and started heading for Kayla through the rear of the van. He had been on the fence about hurting a woman, but now he knew he would be able to take care of her properly once they made it to the dump site.

He realized very quickly that they weren't going to be headed to the dump site anytime soon. Before he could reach for Kayla, he heard a commanding voice yell, "Freeze!"

Kayla's eyes followed the sound of the voice and to her great joy she saw Roman standing there with his gun drawn. She couldn't stop the tears welling up when her older brother asked, "Are you alright, sis?"

Steve heard Roman's voice too, as well as seeing two uniform police draw their weapons on Stubbs. Trying to get his legs under him so he could sit up and look in the van, Steve grunted and yelped in pain, drawing Kayla's attention to make sure he was alright. Looking back at Roman, "Steve's in there. He's hurt. I need to check on him."

She had already tried to jump out of the van forgetting she was still tied up so Roman was forced to catch her before she could hit the pavement. Bo, who had been ordered to remain in the car saw his sister and couldn't stop himself from getting out and running to her.

Helping her out of the ropes, Bo gave her a hug but she quickly ended it when she ran back to check on Steve. Begrudgingly Bo followed, but upon seeing Steve with his newly acquired bruises his old concern for his friend overtook him.

"God, Steve, you look like hell."

Enjoying Kayla's arms around him, he didn't mind Bo's remark and grinned back at him, saying, "Well, I guess that means my modeling days are over."

Bo and Kayla helped Steve out of his ropes. Steve tried to stand up but his bad leg along with the bruises he had received meant he couldn't stand on his own, at least for the moment. Kayla immediately let Steve lean on her and worriedly said, "I've got to get you checked out."

Steve wanted to say that would rile Bo, but remembering Kayla had both her brothers there he knew the odds were against him being able to leave in one piece.

As they hobbled out of the garage, Roman was watching as Stubbs and Brainiac were being led away in cuffs by the uniforms. Directing his attention towards their captives, Roman was a bit shocked at Steve's bruises but relieved to see Kayla didn't appear to have a mark on her.

"Are you okay, Kayla?" Roman asked.

"I'm fine," Kayla said, smiling at her brother. She turned and looked up at Steve, "Thanks to Steve, he made sure they didn't lay a hand on me."

Steve felt emotions well up in him as he thought how easy it would have been for them to have hurt Kayla. He managed to hold them back and shrug for Roman and Bo's benefit. Regardless, Roman and Bo had caught his earlier look.

"Come on, I'm afraid we need to take you two home so you can rest. We'll make sure these guys are locked up while throwing the key away."

Kayla added, "Along with Victor as well."

In the car, Roman had explained to Steve and Kayla that after Bo got the names of Stubbs and Brainiac, Roman was able to do a background check on them. Finding out that one of them had inherited a small house in the country, Roman knew that would probably be the place to take them. Seeing the van in the driveway confirmed it. They were debating about how to storm the place when the garage door opened and they saw the fight.

"What about Bluto?" Steve asked.

"He's taken off," Roman said, "but we will find him."

Steve nodded his head but silently wondered if Bluto, aka Paul, had run off or gone missing. Steve's knowledge of how Victor worked reminded Steve how lucky he and Kayla really were. Without any hesitation, he wrapped his arm around Kayla, for once not caring what her brothers thought.

After Roman dropped them off, Kayla and Bo took Steve up to her loft. Finding Hope there surprised them all. Apparently, after Bo had taken off without a word, Victor had guessed that Bo had betrayed him which was proven when his son failed to replace the carbon roll in the fax machine. He had asked Hope to pack up their things and leave, and so she did gladly.

Though slightly disappointed in having his cover blown, Bo was so relieved to have his favorite sister back safe and sound. Plus, now he would no longer have to pretend he preferred Victor's company to his real family.

Kayla sat down next to Steve, and immediately went into nurse mode forcing his shirt off. Not being able to resist, Steve teased, "Baby, shouldn't we wait for them to leave first?"

Kayla smirked as she knew his comment was for Bo's benefit which naturally worked. Her younger brother said, "We aren't going anywhere, Steve, once she is done taking care of you, we are taking you back to your place."

Glancing up at Bo, Kayla shook her head, "No, you're not."

"Excuse me?"

"Just because you were a help to get us rescued does not mean you can start barking orders at me now."

Bo couldn't believe he just got his sister back an hour ago only to have her yelling at him, again. Defending himself, Bo stated, "Look, Kay, I'm just trying to..."

"Run my life, yes, I can see that," Kayla answered angrily. Steve would have enjoyed another front row seat to a Brady squabble if she wasn't actually nursing him. Her anger at Bo was causing her to rub the medicines hard causing Steve to flinch.

Kayla, finally finishing up on Steve to his great relief, continued, "Listen, Bo. You are perfectly welcome for rescuing me from masked kidnappers who brandish knives and ropes. But leave my love life alone."

Steve's eyes perked up when Kayla said the last phrase and felt himself blush. Bo, shocked at his sister's declarations, stammered not being able to find the words.

Hope smiled. Walking over to her husband, she said, "Listen, we can argue about this some more but it's late."

Turning to Kayla, Hope asked, "Kayla, I hope it's okay, but since we have no place to stay at the moment, I moved our things into the guest room."

Kayla smiled and nodded. Hope turned to Bo before he could protest. The look she gave him, forced Bo to stop talking and realize his wife, for some reason, was angry with him. Sighing, Bo said, "What did I do now?"

"Several things," Hope answered, but took his hand. Leading him to the guest room, Steve and Kayla could hear Hope say, "For starters, let's begin with how I didn't know about Kayla and Steve being kidnapped."

"Oh, Fancy Face, there wasn't time."

Being left alone with Steve, Kayla felt her cheeks blush again. She hadn't meant to say what she did to Bo, but was glad it was out.

Steve, feeling vulnerable, returned to old routines. Glancing up at Kayla, he said, "Well, with them in the guest room, that leads me to spend the night in your..."

Placing her hand over his mouth, Kayla leaned in and said, "On the couch, I'm afraid." She chuckled at the hurt look on his face.

Getting behind him, Kayla said, "You need your rest, so take it while you can." She then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. After watching her head up the spiral staircase to her bedroom, Steve reminded himself he needed to breathe.

While upstairs, Kayla sat down on her bed and said a prayer, thanking God that Steve was alright. There wasn't anything she wanted more than to have him in this bedroom, but she resigned herself that he needed a good night's rest. That is if he was capable of sleeping anymore than she was.


	29. Chapter 29

**On Can't Deny the Heart**

**Summary: **Alternate version to the original story. Takes place morning after Kayla nurses Steve after Victor's goons beat him up.

**Rating:** PG-13

**Beta by: **Slynn6776

**Notes: **This is an alternate version. Its one of my favorite things to do, to create a "what if" story. This version is changing history of Steve and Kayla. I do this with full respect to the canon but I had this plot bunny in my head for some time and I had to see how it would play.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this stuff. But man, if I did...

"What do you mean we have nothing on Victor?" Steve angrily said.

It was the next day and all four of them had met Roman in his office at the police station. Roman had practically worked all night on interrogating Steve and Kayla's kidnappers. The two men had only dealt with Paul directly. Though the two knew Paul was working for someone else, he never called Victor by name.

Steve's leg was feeling better so he was back to his pacing, raving self. He couldn't believe after everything they all had been through, Victor was going to get off again. He continued, "I guess when you have Victor's money, you can pay off anyone."

Roman angrily shot back, "Steve it's not even that. These two morons who kidnapped you were picked out by Paul. They never met with Victor himself. Paul never referred to the man he was working for by name."

"Great, that's just great," Steve said, slamming down into a seat near Roman's desk.

Hope trying to think of something else, asked, "What about the carbon roll that Bo took? Can't we use that?"

"It's not like the faxes had headings that labeled themselves 'TO: VICTOR-MOB BOSS'. We have our leak in custody but he only dealt directly with Paul as well. Paul did inform him to check on anything that dealt with Victor's name or his own but a good attorney will spin it that Paul was still only protecting his own hide."

By now Roman was pounding his hand on the desk to show his own frustration. He wanted to nail Victor as badly as they did but he knew a brick wall when he saw one.

Kayla, who had been sitting in another chair next to Bo, wondered, "But Roman, Steve saw Victor enter that warehouse where we have pictures of the drugs. With Steve's testimony, isn't that enough?"

Roman gave Steve a look and a silent message passed between the two men. Steve sneered and looked away. Kayla seeing the look, asked, "What?"

Roman took a breath, knowing what he was going to say was going to sound incredibly cruel. Looking at his sister, he stated, "I told the DA that Steve was a witness. She said that it's Steve's word against Victor's. And she is more willing to believe an upstanding business man like Kiriakis over a known criminal like Steve."

Roman's guess on Kayla's reaction was right, as hearing this infuriated her. Getting up out of her chair, it was now her turn to pace while raving, "That's not true! How can she think Victor isn't involved? We have his employees, we have his own warehouse, and he even owns the fax machine. Steve has pictures up until right before he comes in."

Roman, playing with a rubber band to keep his hands busy, replied, "Oh, she believes the photographic evidence. She just thinks Steve is over-reaching and trying to take down more than what it really is: a bunch of street thugs trying to make money in a drug ring. She thinks Paul was actually orchestrating it and any talk that he reported to someone else is just a cover to protect him."

Both Kayla and Hope scoffed at Roman's words. He continued, "I completely agree. No way is Paul going to be the one to handle all of this. The amount of drugs that appear in those pictures takes huge connections that your everyday street thugs aren't going to have. This assistant DA is trying to play it safe because she plans on running for District Attorney in the fall. Her name is..."

"Who cares what her name is, man?" Steve interrupted, having enough of it. "It's over isn't it? Victor gets away scotch free."

Roman didn't have an answer for Steve. He looked over at his little brother who had been uncharacteristically quiet since they arrived. Roman asked, "What are you thinking, Bo?"

Bo looked up at Roman. He thought about the months he spent in the Kiriakis mansion and the only thing he had to show for it was some pictures Steve had taken and some evidence from a fax machine. He knew of countless times Victor had gone into mysterious meetings in his limo. He knew of phone calls that Victor had received that Bo was asked to leave for, but unfortunately he had not recorded the dates and times of those meetings and calls. At the time, he had been worried a list like that floating around the house could be found by James and his cover would be blown. He had worked so hard to try to infiltrate Victor's inner circle and had nearly done it. Sighing, Bo shrugged, "I'm thinking it's over now. Victor knows I'm more of a Brady than a Kiriakis. I'm sorry I couldn't have figured this all out. It's my fault Steve and Kayla were involved and were nearly killed. It would mean something if I could have actually done what I started out to do, take Victor down, but it's over now."

Hope, seeing Bo's despair, said, "That's not true, Bo! You've accomplished a lot. I'm very proud of you."

Kayla agreed, "We all are."

Even Steve felt it was worth saying out loud, "It took guts to risk everything like you did."

Roman remained silent and it was noticeable. Roman looked down to the floor, he had spent the last weeks being so mad at Bo he was still adjusting to the fact that Bo never really betrayed them at all.

"Roman!" Kayla said to her big brother, not liking his silence on the matter.

Roman smiled at his sister; her unfailing faith in people was something he hoped she would never lose. Looking at Bo, he admitted, "I can't deny I have been so angry with you, Bo. I wish now that I could have been like Kayla, the only one of us who managed not to judge you. I'm sorry for my treatment of you and Victor getting away doesn't matter if that means I can have my brother back."

In spite of himself, Bo couldn't help but tear up a bit before blinking them away. He wasn't going to cry, especially not in front of Steve. He reached out his hand to shake Roman's but his larger, older brother smirked. Grabbing it, he pulled Bo up and gave him a big bear hug. Kayla and Hope smiled at the scene.

Steve was incredibly uncomfortable. He knew what this meant for Bo and Kayla and wasn't going to ruin it with a smart remark. He was surprised at Roman's words about Kayla. While working at the freight company with Bo, Kayla had been the only family member to come visit him regularly. Roman admitting that she was right all along got to Steve some and he was glad no one could see how it was all affecting him.

---------------

Later, the group broke up to do their own thing. The search would continue for Paul but no one had any real faith he was going to be found. Stubbs and Brianiac were going to jail for a long time. That day Roman returned to see Marlena in the hospital; it was told to him her statistics were improving and he decided to try some of that faith that Kayla always had. Though disappointed that he failed bringing Victor down, Bo and Hope were able to finally visit his parents properly; Shawn and Caroline welcomed him back with open arms. Now that Bo was out of a job, he decided to give Shane a call and see what he could do to help with Andrew's search. Kimberly was more then welcome to have her baby brother in the family again and prayed this would help her find her missing son.

Kayla had taken Steve back to his place. She was surprised her brothers didn't give them a rough time considering they were leaving together. She wasn't deluding herself to think the lack of resistance meant they were welcoming Steve, but she did think it was a good sign they could eventually learn to accept him as part of her life. Kayla wanted Steve to be a part of it; she had made up her mind back in that garage. As for Steve himself, he had been strangely quiet. As Steve and Kayla walked down the stairs, she was reminded of the struggle that had occurred only the day before.

Kayla went to start cleaning up but Steve told her she didn't have to do that. Worried for him, Kayla asked, "Are your injuries hurting?"

Steve shook his head no. Kayla then asked, "Then why are you so quiet?"

"Why...why are you here?" Steve hesitantly returned.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Sweetness. Why are you hanging out with a... with a one-eyed bum like me?"

Taken aback by Steve's directness, she walked over to him. "I don't see a one-eyed bum. I never saw that."

Steve began to scoff and turn away, but Kayla reached out her hand and pulled him to face her again, "I initially saw a man whose inner pain was written on the outside. You did scare me in the beginning but not the way you think. I've never met anyone like you. I have always been drawn to you, and no matter how hard I tried to fight that... you always managed to overcome it. You have more compassion and love inside you than any other man I have ever met."

Steve felt fastened to the floor. He argued, "You can't know that..."

"Yes, I can," Kayla said, then leaned up and gave him a gentle kiss. He responded and pulled her into an embrace. The kiss soon became more urgent as his need for her was overtaking him. Pulling back, Steve saw the disappointment in Kayla's eye.

"You should go," Steve demanded. He meant it. They were no good for each other. Kayla's reaction to his demand was something he least expected. She laughed.

"I'm not going anywhere, Mr. Johnson. You might as well get used to me."

Steve's eye narrowed at Kayla's determined stance. It brought a grin to his face that he couldn't hide. She grinned back and took a step towards him.

Recovering himself, Steve knew he had to be more forceful. "Listen, Baby, I'm more man than you can handle. I suggest you grab your purse and walk up those stairs..."

He stopped because Kayla wasn't doing that. The look in her eyes told him she had something else in mind. She was shaking her head and whispered in Steve's ear, "Why don't you cut the bull and let me prove to you that we are perfect for each other."

Steve's breath left him as Kayla kissed Steve again. He couldn't believe she was so aggressive. He also couldn't believe he was fighting her on this. His hands reached around her back and began exploring up and down, forcing her to growl.

Steve could feel Kayla's hand run down his abdomen and towards the top of his fly. Stopping her, Steve again pulled away. Breathing heavily, Steve said, "Baby, we just can't do this..."

Kayla was growing impatient. "Why not?"

Trying to keep everything light, Steve said, "Because every time we get to this point, I wind up getting attacked, either by protective brothers, kidnapping goons, or expensive kitchen floors."

Steve was still holding Kayla's hand while partially embracing her with the other. Smiling, Kayla said, "And yet we keep trying, that must mean something."

"I just don't want to hurt you," Steve said quietly, "or get hurt."

Making sure he kept eye contact, Kayla admitted, "Neither do I, Steve. But I know this can be great if you let it. Look at how well we have worked together so far. Being kidnapped, cooking, photo processing..."

Steve was quiet as Kayla worked her way back to his lips. Giving in, he turned her around towards the bed. Leaning her down, he pulled off his shirt. Feeling Kayla's fingers on his chest, he heard a growl escape his own throat before kissing her again.

As they explored each other, Steve could feel the tension leave his body. This felt so right, he couldn't fight it anymore. Suddenly needing her to understand that, Steve pulled back. Looking into her eyes, he said, "I don't just want you, Kayla. I need you."

Kayla was about to answer she needed him too, when she realized he meant it to be more than just the physical. Putting her hand to his cheek, she said, "Just don't deny this, Steve. Be honest with me and don't fight it."

Steve nodded, a tear appearing in his eye. He couldn't deny how he felt. He couldn't deny his own heart. They fell back into the bed and nothing interrupted them the rest of the evening or really, the rest of their lives.

THE END


End file.
